TRADERS have slammed a decision by Pendle Council to remove A-boards from outside their shops and claim it will damage their businesses.

A high profile blitz to stop shopkeepers and businesses blocking pavements and putting up illegal advertisements will be launched by the council next month in Brierfield.

But Lisa Beresford, 25, owner of Arnie's Sarnies, in Colne Road, fears that she will lose business if her two A-boards in front of her shop are removed.

Lisa, who has run the shop for four years, said: "Brierfield is going down and down at the moment. It's a dying area and this won't help in the slightest.

"The council are on about regeneration and grants for the town, but if I have to bring my signs in I will lose business and it is potentially another business closing down."

Lisa has two A-boards outside telling people she sells hot and cold food.

She said: "The pavement is really wide there so there wouldn't be any obstruction. If the signs aren't out, people don't think you are open."

Fellow shopkeeper Carol Penswick, of Bewitching Stitching, in Colne Road, said: "I have a lot of customers come to me because of that board.

"If there are any roadworks or people are driving past slowly they see the board and realise I am there. I have been here two and a half years and people say they don't know I'm here until they see the sign.

"I'm not sure if they could take our board down because the landlord said it is on our property because the cellar runs under the pavement."

The pilot scheme will take place in the Brierfield area, led by Pendle Borough Council and supported by the police.

They believe the obstructions are causing problems to pedestrians and those in wheelchairs and are forbidden under the Highways Act 1980. The county council's Code of Practice on mobility also recommends that footways be kept clear of obstructions.

A spokesman for the council said the scheme would begin with a leaflet drop to all businesses to make them aware of the problem.

This will be followed up by the removal of illegal adverts from street furniture and visits by the council and police to offending businesses one to two weeks later if the obstructions have been removed.