A TEAM of road traffic experts are being called in to investigate driving conditions on a notorious stretch of road between Haslingden and Blackburn.

The investigation on the Grane Road has been called following a string of serious accidents and complaints from residents.

There have been 21 serious accidents on the stretch of road between Haslingden and what is now the Guide junction of the M65 in the last five years.

Police have been forced to close the road three times in the last six months after accidents involving lorries.

And the road has become even busier following the opening of the M65 extension between Blackburn and the M6.

Hundreds of motorists use the Grane Road as a short cut between the Edenfield by-pass and the motorway each day making the road one of the busiest rural routes in East Lancashire.

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Philip Cunliffe, Rossendale's borough engineer and chief planning officer, has been holding talks with Lancashire County Council about the situation. He said: "There have been number of concerns expressed about the Grane Road and the high level of accidents.

"We have asked for Lancashire County Council's Accident Investigation and Prevention team to look at that stretch of road.

"They will carry out an investigation based around the previous accidents on the Grane Road.

"They will look at the nature of the accidents and condition of the road where they took place."

But the Rossendale Valley Council official warned that traffic safety measures could take years to introduce.

He said: "This is the start of a very lengthy process which will take some time to complete.

"Once the investigations have been carried out we will have to assess whether road safety measures are needed."

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