CAMPAIGNERS fear that delivery trucks stopping outside a pub are making the road dangerous.

The pub lies at the bottom of a hill on a blind bend and, when delivery drivers park outside the entrance, traffic has to move into the outside lane to pass it.

Photographs taken by Barbara Quinn, who has been campaigning for something to be done at the site after her father, Alec, was knocked down and killed on the road, show the dangers this causes.

One of them shows a bus having to pull out, well into the right-hand lane, to pass a lorry parked on double yellow lines.

Miss Quinn, who drives for Chippy’s Taxis in Railway Road, handed a petition calling for railings outside the pub to Darwen mayor Paul Browne, to be presented to Blackburn with Darwen Council.

The petition now has almost 1,000 signatures.

Blackburn with Darwen Council ruled out erecting railings outside the pub – to force people to walk across a nearby zebra crossing – saying they would affect visibility coming round the corner and make the road more dangerous.

Driving instructor Adrian Shurmer, from Great Harwood, said: “In this case, the lorry driver hasn’t thought about whether he is causing an obstruction. In my day, the police used to sort out all the problems. Now, nobody takes responsibility for it.”

Coun Dave Smith said something needed to be done about delivery trucks.

Town councillor Brenda Cronshaw said the railings were essential. She said: “The coroner’s report at the time said something needed to be done.”

Paul Watters, AA head of roads policy, said: “I fully accept the bend has potential to be regarded a problem for unloading and crossing.

“However, the pub is entitled to this access and the road is reasonably wide and with sensible delivery times it shouldn’t be a prolonged problem.”

No one from Last Orders was available to comment.

Brian Bailey, director of regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “While there may be a perception that this is a dangerous bend accident statistics do not bear this out.

“Following the incident, a road safety auditor considered the request for railings.

"The conclusion was that the reduction in visibility around the bend from the installation of railings would compromise road safety and outweigh any benefits to pedestrians.”