HIGHWAYS bosses have dismissed calls to repair a stretch of the M65 made after a man was killed in a horror road smash.

Timothy Watkins died when his car skidded up an embankment into a lamp-post. And at an inquest into the tragedy, East Lancashire coroner Michael Singleton said the road was "the main factor" in the fatal crash.

Mr Watkins, a 48-year-old mortgage adviser, was travelling west close to junction six at Whitebirk when his car seemed to twitch, the inquest heard.

Mr Singleton said the rumble strip, designed to warn drivers the central reservation is lower than the road, was too close to the edge of the lane.

The strip, he said, should be far enough away from where the road dips to give motorists "a chance to react".

The inquest was told Mr Watkins, who lived in Redhill Grove, Chorley, with his wife Frances, panicked and the car went into a spin.

After the hearing, Mr Singleton wrote to the Highways Agency calling for work to the central reservation. But today he said the agency had declined.

The M65 was built in line with standards but this year more rules were introduced by the Government -- but are only implemented on new roads or major work.

In a letter to the coroner, the agency said: "Being relatively new and in generally good condition, this section of the M65 does not have any improvement schemes planned. However, widening the carriageway or hard standing to the central reservation would be considered."

Mr Singleton added: "The road was the main factor in this man's death."