UNMANNED railway stations in East Lancashire should soon be patrolled by stationmasters, according to an MEP.

Liberal Democrat North West MEP Chris Davies, said his proposal had received a warm response from the area's two main train station operators, First North Western and Virgin Trains.

Mr Davies has called on rail operators to expand on a scheme launched in Ledbury, Herefordshire, which involved a self-employed station agent being given the opportunity to run a station on a franchise basis, retaining nine per cent of the total value of tickets sold.

He believes introducing such agents at places like Church and Oswaldtwistle, Colne, Cherry Tree, Mill Hill and Brierfield, would boost customer service and also help cut crime.

The MEP's stance comes just over two months after a survey carried out by Hyndburn Council revealed more than two-thirds of people in the borough said they feared for their safety when using railway stations at night, citing the fact they were dark and unmanned as the main reasons for their concerns.

Mr Davies said: "I have had a positive response from First North Western, who believe the scheme in Ledbury is running well and have asked their property agent to look at this kind of scheme for our area.

"In Victorian times up to a dozen people would have been employed at every local station, but now more than 100 in the North West alone are totally unmanned."

Paul Bunting, commercial director of First North Western, said: "We have advised our property agents to look into how we can improve our current number of well-placed assets.

"We know the scheme in Ledbury works very well and we are considering it."