ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners spread their warning over growing air pollution in Colne town centre in an unusual way on Saturday.

Members of Pendle Friends of the Earth handed out balloons with chemical symbols on them to passers-by outside the market hall.

FoE member Jane Hubbard explained: "The balloons had a chemical symbol on them representing one of the noxious fumes which come from car exhausts.

"People were interested to see what we were doing. I think most of them realise we have to do something about the amount of Traffic on the roads." The project was part of a national campaign to get the message across about air pollution.

The Colne campaigners also collected around 40 signatures supporting moves to cut traffic.

Friends of the Earth, along with the Green Party and other environmentalist groups, are hoping an MP will take up their Road Traffic Reduction Bill and adopt it as a Private Members Bill in Parliament.

The Bill has already been the subject of an early Day Motion in the Commons, signed by a number of councils and MPs, including Pendle MP Gordon Prentice.

It calls on the Government to take steps to cut traffic by ten per cent by the year 2010.

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