TOWN hall bosses are hoping to settle a bitter row which has split a Blackburn estate.

Residents near Roman Road are divided over a fence which is blocking a footpath to nearby shops.

Shadow Home Secretary Jack Straw, ward councillors and the police have all tried to settle the dispute which has divided the community.

People living on Roman Road want the fence to stay because they claim the short-cut to nearby shops attracts trouble-causers and vandals.

But other residents say their children are being put at risk because they have to walk along busy roads to get to the nearest bus stops. Opponents have even compared the fence to the Berlin Wall.

Both sets of campaigners have sent petitions to Blackburn Town Hall and in the future a footpath will be built on a strip of council-owned land. But council bosses want to settle the row and are looking for a short term answer to the dilemma.

Director of development services Alan Peake, will write to all the residents on the estate in the next few weeks.

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