AN MP says he is disappointed at a decision by Northern not to include Church and Oswaldtwistle station in a scheme to improve disabled access.

The station has no disabled access on the Church side and passengers have to make their way up a flight of steps instead.

And Hyndburn's MP Graham Jones wrote to Northern to ask if the station could be included in a scheme to make it more user friendly for passengers who are disabled or have mobility issues.

But he has been rebuffed by Northern, who say the station does not meet the criteria for the scheme.

Mr Jones said: "It's disappointing as there is no access for disabled and less mobile people on the Church side.

"There's just steps going up.

"I've had disabled campaigners contact about this and they want to see some facility provided on the Church side to improve disabled access such as having a ramp.

"On the Oswaldtwistle side, there's a path that goes up so it's okay."

But Raj Chandarana, stakeholder manager at Northern, said in a letter to Mr Jones that it will work closely with Community Rail Lancashire, Lancashire County Council and others to look at alternative ways of making stations more accessible.

Mr Chandarana said: "As you will be aware, far too many of our stations were built in the Victorian era, and many are inaccessible to disabled people as well as the elderly and those with young children in pushchairs.

"The rail industry is working hard with the Department for Transport (DfT) to make more of our stations in the North accessible to all customers.

"We are currently in the process of bidding for funding from the DfT under the Access for All fund to make more of our stations accessible.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to submit an application for Church & Oswaldtwistle Station under this scheme, as it did not meet key criteria, specifically in relation to proximity to an accessible railway station, as there are other stations which are further away from accessible stations.

"Whilst not ideal, our current disability policy can help constituents with mobility difficulties travel on our network, by providing alternative transport from an inaccessible station to the nearest accessible station.

He added: "Moving forward, we will work closely with Community Rail Lancashire, Lancashire County Council and others to look at alternative ways of making more of our stations accessible.

"I am sorry I am not able to provide a more positive response at this time."