COUNCIL chiefs have pledged to cut the number of children killed or seriously injured on roads by three quarters within the next three years.

A comprehensive re-think of how children learn about road safety, along with extra cash for speed cameras and more cash for traffic calming, are to be used to meet the tough target.

According to council figures between 1994-98 an average of 36 children were injured each year.

The combination of education, enforcement and engineering is to be used to bring down the overall road casualty toll of all ages by 25 per cent.

The pledge is one a of series of tough targets which the council must live up to to meet the terms of a Public Service Agreement (PSA) it has signed with the Government to get an extra £8.5million.

The authority has a list of services which they must improve to get the extra cash being offered by the government.

At the launch of the PSA in King George's Hall, council officers were congratulated on getting the agreement with the government by leader of the council Malcolm Doherty, but they were also told "failure is not an option".

Coun Gail Barton said: "The worst thing that can happen is for us not to bring in that money."

The agreement with the Government means the council has to meet tough targets for improving services in a range of specific areas. In return it can receive up to £8.5million extra cash to spend on council services.

Libraries are also to be open longer and made more attractive to younger people, aged between 16 and 24.

Norma Monks, head of cultural services for Blackburn with Darwen, said they would be consulting the public to see when they wanted libraries to be open.

The targets the council has to include:

Increasing electoral turnout by five per cent

Increasing the numbers of children achieving level five at Key Stage Three by six per cent

Enabling 5,000 people to access school resources for learning

Recycling an extra five per cent of household waste

Cutting youth offending by an extra three per cent

Becoming the first unitary council with a library open 60 hours a week

Helping an extra 200 unemployed people find work

Reducing the rate of teenage pregnancies by an extra five per cent.