COUNTRY lanes in Burnley and Pendle are being ruined by a big rise in the number of cars and lorries using them, says the Council for the Protection of Rural England.

Three local roads - Long Causeway and Buch Clough Lane, Burnley, and Barley Road, Pendleside - are cited in the CPRE's new far-reaching report on the impact of traffic on the countryside.

The council is calling for the government to spend more on finding solutions. It also wants new 40mph speed limits, higher taxes for drivers, and a return to locating housing and industrial developments in towns.

"Speeding cars, loud noise and the introduction of urban-style traffic-calming measures are having a profound impact," said CPRE transport campaigner Lilli Matson.

She said traffic in this area could more than double by the year 2025. Cars and lorries were already destroying the fabric of country lanes and forcing cyclists, walkers and horse-riders off once-peaceful routes.

After three months of traffic counts and consultation with local groups, the CPRE claimed that Long Causeway's wind-turbine site was attracting more visitors, leading to increased fire risk, problems with dogs and disturbance of wildlife.

Barley Road, the main starting point for Pendle Hill walkers, was used by 744 vehicles a day, including 24 lorries.

And narrow Buch Clough Lane's dry-stone walls were being damaged by cars which used it as a rat run from the main road to Todmorden (A646).

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