AS we approach the new millennium and the 21st century, isn't it amazing how we get the winter's first fall of snow and everything grinds to a complete halt.

I would like Blackburn Council to explain why the A666 Darwen-to-Blackburn Road was at a standstill for more than four hours on Thursday - not Bolton Road out of Darwen towards Bolton, but the road down into Darwen towards Blackburn.

Since opening the new motorway link, this road has top priority for being kept open.

Yet, it looked at 7.15am as though it had not even been gritted.

Surely, before the rush hour began, snow ploughs should have been up and down the A666 to see it was kept open.

The only other option for Darweners is to try and go over Pole Lane down Pot House and towards Eccleshill to join the motorway, but this is an impossible route.

I found that after trying again at 10.30am to get to the motorway, the A666 was still choked, but I managed to get to Eccleshill and eventually the motorway in 15 minutes.

The Council is a complete joke and, although you cannot compensate for accidents, these would not happen if it had done its job properly in the first place.

Council tax payers, who are faced with increases this year, must also wonder, as I do, what we actually pay for, especially when, on top of this, you lose half a day's work at the first fall of snow.

MR CHRIS ROYLE, Darwen.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.