THE HEATWAVE which has hit East Lancashire over the last week has caused some roads to melt.

Several residents in Blackburn have reported to Blackburn with Darwen Council that the surface of roads being affected by the heat.

The hot spell, which has seen temperatures soar up to 30 degrees, has seen the surface of the roads start to melt because the road temperatures are much higher than air temperatures.

The council’s road team tweeted: “Hot weather caution - melting roads. This actually happens!

“We’ve had a number of calls this evening relating to roads ‘melting’ in the heat.

“Road temperatures can be more than double the air temperature, which has seen roads hit 60 degrees-plus across this week.

“We will be inspecting affected roads this evening to determine any measures that may need to be put in place.”

Two roads in particular have been hit, Livesey Branch Road and Preston New Road.

Livesey Branch Road has had patches affected on the stretch from Gib Lane to the Oyster and Otter restaurant, which is nearly a mile long.

Motorists in Preston New Road around the junction of Revidge Road have to travel through the melting road for half a mile, which some have described as ‘dangerous’.

Residents said they were ‘shocked’ to see the roads in such a state and were hoping the stretches would be fixed soon. But the council said it was inspecting and fixing affected areas, using gritters if necessary.

Sharon Davies, who works at Westholme Nursery School, on Preston New Road, said: “The caretaker told us about the state of the roads and said they were really bad. It’s quite shocking because it’s never happened like this before.”

Louise Critchley, who also works at the Preston New Road school, added: “It’s very dangerous to drive on these roads at the moment. I’m trying to avoid them.”

Other residents said they were not so concerned about the state of the roads because of the heat.

A man, who lives near the junction of Revidge Road, said: “You can see the melted road all the way down to the traffic lights. But I would say there are more dangerous things to worry about than tar on the road.”

An inspection has been carried out by the council and it said the roads will be treated.

A council spokesman said: “We have had a couple of hotspots develop around Livesey Branch Road and Preston New Road.

“We would apply a fine course of sand to the surface in order to bed in with a gritter lorry if this method is needed.”

The heatwave is set to continue for the next five days, with temperatures expected to remain as high as 30 degrees over the weekend.