TRAFFIC calming measures are set to be introduced at an accident blackspot thanks to the campaigning powers of a local councillor.

Councillor Bill Goldsmith called on council chiefs to take evasive action after a 70-year-old pensioner was knocked down by a Land Rover which mounted the pavement on the bend at Knuzden Brook.

And now Hyndburn Borough Council and Lancashire County Council are set to join forces to introduce a 30 mph hour speed limit on the dangerous stretch of Haslingden Old.

Small traffic calming measures such as road markings and bigger road signs could be implemented by the end of the year at a cost of around £4,000.

Pensioner Nancy Bradley is still recovering from a fractured skull at Blackburn Royal Infirmary following the accident on Sunday, June 15. Police said that the driver of an M-registered Land Rover Defender lost control of the vehicle on the bend, mounted the pavement, hit a tree and then collided with Mrs Bradley. The driver, George Booth, 72, was unhurt.

Mr Goldsmith, who has campaigned vigorously for the past 10 years and has collected more than 100 names in a petition to solve the problem, said: "I'm glad to see the council is at last seeing sense. That bend has been the scene of many serious accidents and fatalities during the past decade and it is about time something was done."

He added: "Nancy is still in hospital but she is making good progress. Because of her age doctors are keeping her in to keep her under observation."

David Law, group manager of Hyndburn Council's traffic and transportation department, said: "We are aware of the problem that stretch of road is causing and, in conjunction with Lancashire County Council, we hope to implement such measures by the end of the year that would see speeds drastically reduced."

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