A ‘NOTORIOUS rat run’ should be limited to 20mph, say residents.

The call for the speed in Knowsley Road, Wilpshire to be cut has been made by concerned residents since last year.

County Coun Alan Schofield raised the possibility with Lancashire County Council but no decision has yet been made.

The road, which connects with the A666 and Ribchester Road, was not included in the county council’s 20mph limit residential scheme in 2011 but the parish council was later told that it would be included in phase five.

However, that phase was halted pending a review of the performance of existing schemes, with the outcome still to be announced.

The Speed Taskforce will discuss the limit on Knowsley Road next month.

Coun Schofield said: “This road causes daily problems for local residents and I’ve had many people contacting me on this issue. There have thankfully been no fatal accidents but I would not be surprised if there have been a lot of other accidents.

“Residents I’ve spoken to are angry that people use the road as a rat run instead of using the A666, in order to miss traffic lights near the Wilpshire Hotel.

“The speed should be cut to 20mph because there is a real risk of something bad happening.”

County Coun John Fillis, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Concerns over speeding on Knowsley Road and a possible change of speed limit have been raised with me.

“But at no time have I, or as far as I’m aware my predecessor under the Conservative administration, agreed that the speed on this road will be dropped to 20mph.

“We’ve had a number of requests from communities, such as Wilpshire, for small schemes that are not part of the original 20mph area programme.

“Once we’ve heard from the police and have the results of the evaluation, we will consider the appropriate course of action to be taken in the area.”