BANNED bus boss Ray Pilkington today blamed councillors' obsession with speed humps and chicanes for driving his business off the road.

And Hyndburn Council leader Peter Britcliffe today said he had 'sympathy' with Mr Pilkington's point of view.

The wheelchair-bound transport manager of Accrington Buses hit out after his firm was stripped of its operating licence and ordered to cease running bus services within six weeks. By July 23, the firm must have pulled its fleet off the road.

Traffic commissioner Beverley Bell made the order after hearing that 15 of 18 buses checked by inspectors were ordered off the road last October.

Basic faults such as loose wheel nuts were detected and the family fleet had an 81 per cent MOT failure rate.

The family had promised to tighten up its maintenance, but the fact the company had been before the commissioner twice in recent years was held against them. The company was also rapped for running services late, or not at all.

But today, Mr Pilkington said: "The reason we have such a high rate of faults is because of the route we operate on.

"We are the only firm which goes round the back streets of Accrington, where the councillors want us to.

"But they have an obsession with speed humps. There are hundreds of them. They increase our wear and tear rate. And as for the chicanes. Well, we're told to do a route, but if there are these chicanes which people park all around we can't get through. That makes us late.

"We admitted we had to improve, but no other operator has these problems because they won't go down back streets where these humps are."

Hyndburn Council transport manager David Law said: "The speed humps and chicanes meet Government standards and targets and are no different to others across the country."

But council leader Peter Britcliffe said: "I have some sympathy. We seem to have them everywhere. Often, they are put upon us by county council."

No one from Lancashire County Council, responsible for choosing speed hump sites, was available for comment.