ROAD chiefs have introduced a new scheme to slow traffic at an accident blackspot in a last-ditch effort to prevent more casualties.

Red "slow" stripes have been painted across Dill Hall Lane at Church, but Hyndburn Council engineers have admitted that speed cameras and road humps would be more suitable to stop traffic from speeding.

The move coincides with a hard-hitting media campaign, launched this month, to push home the message for drivers to slow down.

The slogan "Kill Your Speed, Not A Child" is particularly poignant for Dill Hall Lane residents, who have witnessed a series of accidents, the most recent involving toddler Elliot Donlon, who suffered serious injuries after colliding with a car.

Locals blamed kerb outcrops and roadside parking bays for squeezing fast-moving traffic together and making the road hazardous.

Alan Holden, of Dill Hall Lane Post Office, said: "The present traffic calming schemes don't seem to be working and I think what is really needed is a speed camera.

"Painting more things on the road does seem like a token gesture."

Resident Kath Bracewell said: "I don't want to slam the council for doing something, but cameras are the best solution."

Another resident, who did not want to be named, added: "People might take notice of these slow signs during the day but what happens when it's dark and they can't be seen?"

Ian Richardson, Hyndburn Council's traffic and transportation engineer, conceded: "Speed cameras would undoubtedly slow traffic because no one wants to be caught.

"But it would be virtually impossible to install them because the road is so busy with parked cars.

"Road humps might also work but there would be problems with heavy vehicles going over them and causing vibrations in nearby houses."

He added: "This is the first time we have used these markings in the borough - we will be monitoring their success closely."

Two-year-old Elliot Donlon is improving in Manchester's Booth Hall Children's Hospital

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