ANGRY residents have relaunched a campaign to banish juggernauts from their roads before a serious accident occurs.

Homeowners in the Intack area of Blackburn have decided that enough is enough after they were told the lorries would disappear once the new motorway had opened.

Now they are to submit a petition of more than 200 names to Blackburn with Darwen Council asking why such a high number of lorries continue to use the roads.

Some parents fear that a child could be knocked down, especially since the McDonalds Drive-Thru restaurant opened in the area and there is a school nearby.

Martin Baybutt, who owns Martin's Hairdressers on Accrington Road, said: "All along we have been told to keep quiet and wait until the motorway opens. We were promised that once it opened the lorries would disappear but it hasn't happened.

"The number of cars using these roads has reduced drastically but the lorries keep on coming. They once had to use these roads out of necessity but now that the motorway has opened they continue to use them as rat-runs.

"They are causing structural damage to our homes and pot-holes have appeared in the roads.

"Some lorries come tearing through here in the early hours of the morning and wake us up but it's not on. We've remained silent up until now because we thought the problem would have been solved but now we are calling on the council to try and get the lorries off our roads."

Peter McNulty of Shadsworth Road added: "All we want is some sensible answers.

"We've heard a whole host of excuses why the lorries come down here, including that they are too heavy for the motorway which I find very hard to believe."

Local councillors Tony Humphrys and Yusuf Jan-Virmani have also joined the fight to get the town hall to look into the problem. Coun Humphrys said: "I am well aware of the problem the residents are facing and I believe some structural damage has been caused.

"It is my duty as their councillor to take the matter up and I hope we can solve the problem soon."

And Coun Jan-Virmani added: "A council report in August said that the number of lorries using the road would be reduced by 25 per cent but that has not happened.

"We are now seeking to hold a meeting with these lorry firms to ask them why they are using the roads."

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