TRADERS and residents of Haslingden have declared their town centre Christmas lights an insult and demanded: We want our train back!

For several years the town had a train decoration, which hung between buildings in Blackburn Road and which was last seen in Christmas 1999, and another large decoration depicting shooting stars in Lower Deardengate as well as decorations on the centre's lamp-posts. But this year Rossendale Council has installed 17 decorations made up of three white strands of neon cable and one Christmas tree outside the Neighbourhood Office -- with no lights on it.

Granville Morris, who has run Greenfields greengrocers in Deardengate for seven years, said: "Putting up something like that is an insult.

We have five town centres in Rossendale that could have different decorations in each and move them round each year so the towns get a new display."

At Ralph Howells' Cafe in Manchester Road his wife Barbara will be decorating the interior. She said: "We will have more decorations inside here and it will be brighter than it is out there.

"Is this all we are having? I would just like to know where the money is coming from for these decorations. I think they are disgraceful."

Ralph said: "These are crap. I can think of better words for them but you wouldn't be allowed to publish them.

"In Rawtenstall they have similar decorations with brightly coloured stars at the top. I keep waiting for them to come round and fit them on to ours. And where's our train? A lot of people keep coming into the cafe asking where it is."

Gerry Hodson, a member of Churches Together in Haslingden, said last year the churches paid for replacement figures for the crib at the memorial gardens on Manchester Road after they were vandalised and the council has agreed to contribute, but no money was ever provided.

Of the decorations he said: "They don't really make a statement." He added the churches would put up the crib up.

Owner of Valley Tailor in Manchester Road Alan McPartland asked: "Are they up?"

When the decorations were pointed out to him he said: "They would have been better if they had not bothered.

"I didn't know they were they were there they are so insignificant."

Barry Haworth, owner of Cissy Green's confectioners in Deardengate, called for the traders to reform the Chamber of Trade, pay for their own lights and get the council to put them up. He said: "These are very disappointing and I don't know what they are supposed to depict.

"They don't say anything for the town and won't encourage new people stop in Haslingden to shop."

Chairman of the leisure committee Coun Neil Smith said: "Lancashire County Council and Norweb restrict what we are allowed to hang from the lamp-posts and they are the only ones we are allowed to put on the ones in Haslingden. I am a Haslingden councillor and I am not going to put Haslingden down. It's the circumstances.

"A lot of the lights we had there in previous years have outlived their life but I will find out what happened to the train."

With the crib, Coun Smith said he recalled the council had agreed to help pay for the figures and the churches should resubmit their bill to the leisure department.

He said a Christmas tree which was installed and lit in Bacup on Monday, had all but 17 of its 80 bulbs smashed by the next day. "That is the sort of thing we're up against," he said.