HIGHWAYS bosses have been accused of gridlocking Clitheroe town centre by installing new anti-parking measures.

Eight new bollards have helped bring commuters to a standstill every time the dray lorry visits one particular pub, according to traders.

The lorry delivering ale to Clitheroe Social Club, Wellgate, used to park partly on the wide pavement outside the venue to make sure traffic on the narrow street could get by.

But since the bollards appeared almost a week ago, it has to park on the road for its 30 minute visit. With one lane of the one-way street dedicated to parking, cars queuing up behind the dray vehicle have no escape.

Today, a spokesman for Ribble Valley Council said the bollards had been put in place by Lancashire County Council.

Paula O'Neill, who works at Clitheroe Social Club, said: "It is ridiculous. There was no consultation, they just appeared last Friday.

"Our drayman comes twice a week and can be here anything up to half an hour taking off the new delivery and putting on the empties. The traffic just can't get round it. I rang up the council to ask them what was going on and they said it was to stop people parking.

"When I asked if we could have the bollards which you can drop down with a key they said no because we would never put them up again!"

She added: "I know people shouldn't park on the pavement but it has to be better than parking on the road. The driver can't park anywhere else if he is to get his stuff to us."

Cheryl Hindle, co-owner of Brioche sandwich shop, also on Wellgate, said the traffic quickly backed up Wellgate and on to Castle Street, bringing much of the town's one-way to a standstill.

She said: "We have had to re-time all our deliveries so we can get a parking space on the other side of the street.

"After 9am, there are no spaces available. Nobody said anything to us. The first we knew was when it appeared."

Her business partner, Allison Aubin, said: "A lot of our customers used to just pull up, get the stuff and go. They can't do that now."

Julie Kempster, who runs World of Nails, also on the street, said: "I asked the men putting the bollards in where delivery vans should park. They said they should use the parking spaces meant for cars.

"It was a bit rich given that they had parked their van on the pavement."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "The bollards were put in place following a complaint from the police about people parking on the pavement.

"We are more than happy to talk with the social club and the police to find a solution."

The police in Clitheroe were unavailable for comment.