A BOLLARD hit by a motorist who suffered brain damage was scheduled for repair on the day of the accident, it has been revealed.

Ann Marney, 44, of James Street, Great Harwood, smashed into the unlit bollard on Lee Lane, Great Harwood, while overtaking another vehicle in her converted Reliant Robin trike a week last Monday.

Hours earlier a Hyndburn Council workman had tried to repair the bollard, part of a pedestrian crossing refuge, after council workers discovered it was not lit.

But the council today revealed the job involved more than just replacing a bulb so it could not be completed.

It added that there was a problem with the power feed from the street lighting, which would have taken more than one person to fix, and may have needed temporary traffic lights on the road.

Mrs Marney suffered internal injuries and was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary. She was transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital where she was in intensive care until Thursday. She then spoke for the first time since the accident after being moved to the neurological ward.

"She's definitely made progress," said brother Mark Neal, of Short Street. "It's amazing what a difference a couple of days have made. We are very optimistic."

John Duckworth, of the Bostons, Great Harwood, said the bollard had been knocked down twice in one weekend in March and though it was replaced it was not illuminated.

Mr Duckworth said he contacted the council about it in April but had no response. "It's disgraceful," he said. "Firstly it's not lit, but you would think when I wrote to them four weeks after it was replaced in March, something would have been done. But, three months later, nothing."

Mr Neal said: "I'm not very happy about it. It's a shame it takes an accident to make them do something after months and months of being told by local residents. We are furious."

John Schofield, technical manager for Hyndburn Borough Council, said the bollard had been repaired as part of a bulk repair programme after Mr Duckworth contacted them. It is a legal requirement that bollards are lit through the hours of darkness.

Council workers discovered the light was not working again a week before the accident, Mr Schofield said.

"On the day of the accident staff went to repair the bollard but reported there was a fault to the feed. Therefore it was a problem they could not fix there and then. It was a completely different job."

The bollard was repaired and working the day after the accident, he said.