RESIDENTS in Rossendale used a police meeting to quiz chiefs about the possibility of reducing the speed limit on a road notorious for accidents.

The issue has been brought up in the past, although residents felt not enough had been done on the A6177 Grane Road, Haslingden.

People gathered for the police authority meeting at Longholme Methodist Church hall, Rawtenstall, in a bid to pressure police into pushing the council to reduce the speed from 50mph to 40mph along more stretches of the road.

One Grane Road resident said: "We've been asking time and time again for the speed to be reduced, but nothing seems to be done."

The latest crash happened at the end of May, wrecking the front of homes at Virgin Row, on the Grane Road.

The road was subject to a Lancashire Evening Telegraph campaign when serious accidents involving motorists peaked at 28 a year in 1998.

However £30,000 of investments to introduce speed measures including reducing speed limits on some parts of the road has already cut the number of accidents by 50 per cent.

Inspector Roger Ravenscroft said: "On parts of the road near to Blackburn the speed limit is 40mph whereas when you get to Haslingden it goes up to 50mph.

"We've acknowledged the call to have that reduced to 40mph and are consulting with the council on the issue. There aren't any fixed speed camera sites. This is being looked at although it is controlled by strict government guidelines.

"If the roads don't conform to their guidelines then they won't fix cameras."

Chief Inspector Stewart Harman told residents how road deaths have fallen by over 20 per cent and how road speeds have also reduced across Lancashire since the introduction of both fixed and mobile cameras.