LORRIES thundering over the top of a mini roundabout in Great Harwood are being blamed for shaking nearby residents in their beds.

Now, next door neighbours Betty Ather, 68, and Mona Barker, 77, are calling on Hyndburn Council to do away with the 'unnecessary' roundabout at the top of Church Street and to widen the road.

Mrs Ather, whose front door is only yards away from the problem spot, said: "The noise and vibration to the properties is absolutely horrendous.

"It is impossible to sleep after 5am. When these heavy wagons come past, they rattle the foundations and my bed shudders."

Dorothy Cook, who lives 200 yards away in Mount Street, said she had been woken up at 4am by the bump of lorries going over the mini roundabout.

Mrs Ather said their misery had grown worse because of the increasing volume of motorway construction traffic. She said: "The roundabout is just a waste of time and ratepayers' money. It is not calming any traffic and is knocking hell out of these two properties.

"The road is so narrow all the heavy goods vehicles have to go over the top and if they are not going to go around it, what's the point of having it?"

Mrs Ather said the council has said it will act on a complaint of unnecessary calming measures, and suggested an early morning visit by the environmental health department to measure the noise and vibration levels.

Ian Richardson, Hyndburn Council traffic and transportation engineer, said the mini roundabout had been put in about a year ago to tackle an accident problem at the junction.

He added: "We do know speeds have been significantly reduced and turning movements, especially coming out of Cliffe Lane, have been significantly aided."

He said the height of the dome had been minimised to cater for lorries overriding it. Accident figures would continue to be monitored.

Any request in writing for monitoring of noise or vibration levels would be passed to the county council, who funded the scheme and are the highways authority.

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