A MAJOR roadworks project has been launched to reduce the height of speed bumps on an estate after scores of complaints.

Residents, along with emergency services and bus operators, said that the traffic-calming measures were so severe they were damaging vehicles.

Bosses at Lancashire County Council said that the humps, in Southwood Drive, Baxenden, needed urgent work after a series of concerns were raised.

Local councillor John Griffiths said that the issue had been raised with the highways department several years ago.

He said: “I am really pleased that the coun-ty council is taking action on this.

"I personally have had a lot of complaints about the severity of the bumps and it is great to see that they are now being reduced in size.

“It is a fast road, so it is important to have some traffic-calming measures, but they need to be properly managed.

“The new bumps will still do the job that is intended, but will not damage the vehicles that use the road.”

John Schofield, the county’s assistant area manager, said: “The work in Southwood Drive includes the patching of a number of areas prior to surface- dressing the whole length in a couple of weeks’ time.

“We are also repairing the road humps, which have deteriorated over a number of years and also suffered from more recent frost damage.

“We are aware that the severity of the existing road humps in Southwood Drive has led to a number of complaints, so we are also taking the opportunity to reduce the severity of the road humps while retaining their impact on speed reduction.”

Bosses at M&M Coaches, which operates eight services a day through Southwood Drive, said concerns had been raised from passengers about the severity of the humps.

A spokesman said: “The pensioners find it very rough, so if they are dropping the height down, then that is great news.

“There have been some worries. But there always are when it comes to speed bumps.”