RESIDENTS in an Accrington street have won their fight to stop drivers using it as a rat run.

Members of Hyndburn Council's environmental services committee agreed to shut Brunswick Terrace to everyone but residents after receiving a 20-signature petition.

The committee heard that residents feared for the safety of their children and had asked for the road to be labelled 'access only'.

The petition stated: "Our children cannot play in the back yards because they are too steep and the front gardens have inadequate fencing to make them secure."

The campaigners claimed the problem was made worse by a number of people who did not live in the street parking cars outside their houses.

A report to councillors stated: "The street provides a short cut for Traffic heading from Blackburn Road to Scaitcliffe Street and Willows Lane.

"Drivers taking short cuts are generally trying to save time and tend to drive at excessive speeds."

Traffic calming schemes have been temporarily shelved while the issue is discussed by the borough's traffic management review panel and members voted to make the route access only.

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