RESIDENTS fighting for a weight restriction on a road used as a rat run are demanding an explanation after the county council ignored their pleas.

New Lane in Oswaldtwistle is used by heavy goods drivers as a short cut through the town but a proposal to impose the weight restriction on the road was rejected by Lancashire County Council and the police.

An alternative suggestion of new signs on the M65 to direct HGVs away from the road has been suggested but the estimated cost of £4,000 to £6,500 would have to be paid for by Oswaldtwistle Area Council.

Coun Peter Britcliffe, chairman of the council, said: "It's an appalling decision and a big blow to people in New Lane and the people of Oswaldtwistle.

"We are being used as a short cut. Solving the problem in New Lane would solve a lot of the problems in Union Road and throughout the town.

"More and more people are finding that short cut. It's not good enough and we have just got to go back on this and say more about it."

Steve Watson, area councils manager, said his organisation would look to the county council for funding.

The council also plans to monitor which companies are using the cut through and write to them.

Trevor Catlow, vice chairman of the Wordsworth and District Residents Association, said: "I saw three lorries in the space of two minutes coming down there the other day.

"One was from Northern Ireland, one from South Wales and another from London. Northern Ireland is a long way from Oswaldtwistle so why should they bother."

Another resident said: "It's not just the HGVs, it's the general speed of the traffic. The 30-mile an hour signage should be increased and made bigger to make people aware of the speed limit. It's very difficult for pedestrians."

Inspector Phil Cottam, who attended the meeting, said: "The difficulty we have is the road itself does not have an accident record to justify having money spent on it. There are criteria and it's not been identified as a site.

"Perhaps what needs to be looked at is the traffic calming currently in place and seeing what can be done to make it better. Reducing the speed from 40 to 30 and something that makes the road narrower so people have to slow down would be a move in the right direction."

Members agreed to invite a county council representative to their September meeting.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said it had been consulted but the final decision was Hyndburn's.