OPENCAST anger boiling up in Bag Lane could spill to other parts of Atherton and Tyldesley.

An unfinished coal mining project has been labelled an eyesore and potential death trap by locals who warn more problems could be on the way with approval being given to opencast at Cutacre.

But the company which is carrying out the work say the 'Bluebell' rucks -- a giant blot on the landscape to the north east of Atherton and Tyldesley -- will be transformed into an oasis for nature and the community.

Residents living close to the Bag Lane site in Atherton claim nothing has been done to redevelop and landscape the area since work finished there four years ago.

Now they fear other areas could be similarly affected following approval of an opencast scheme at the Cutacre Tip -- once labelled Europe's biggest spoil heap in The Guinness Book of Records -- on the Tyldesley and Little Hulton border.

The Cutacre scheme was given the go-ahead after 20 years of protests. However, the company which will work the site says it will be greatly improved once their four year project is complete.

Rackwood Colliery Company began mining in the early 1990s at the Bag Lane site, between North Road and Schofield Lane, Atherton.

Their work was complete by 1996 but promises to redevelop the site it never happened.

Two years ago the Journal ran a story which labelled the land an eyesore and highlighted concerns that a large lagoon posed potential danger to youngsters who had been bathing there.

Retired Journal reporter Harold Williams, 80, of North Road, said Rackwood always promised to landscape the site.

He added: "They said they would make it into a lovely park with trees and everything. Instead, it looks like a World War One battlefield.

"I think people who live near to Cutacre should get assurances it won't happen there."

Rackwood Colliery Company went bankrupt and the land, currently in the hands of receivers Ernst Young, would cost an estimated £750,000 to landscape.

Westhoughton Council Leader David Wilkinson said: "It could stay like that for many years.

"I said at the public inquiry into Cutacre that whatever happens there must be a bond, whereby whatever work is carried out, the money is there to landscape the site.

"That has happened and Cutacre should be all right, although I still have worries about it."

A spokesman for RJB, which will mine at Cutacre, said residents near the site had no need to be worried that the area would be left in a mess.

He added: "We will be redeveloping and restoring the land during and after the four-year project.

"There will be a short term intrusion for residents, but this will be followed by long-term benefits. It will be a haven for wildlife and a playground for local children."

RJB will also be forming a liaison committee with residents over the four year period to solve any problems.