IN Darwen, I fear the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

The A666 main road near to the new M65 exit has now been narrowed to create car parking spaces.

An extremely-busy trunk road, a major bus and heavy goods route, has recently become even more busy with traffic leaving and entering the motorway.

All this is within yards of a large school, within half a mile of a Premier League football ground and, with traffic lights constantly causing build-ups, they decide to make the road narrower!

Such mind-boggling stupidity, with no sound logical basis - either safety-wise or traffic calming-wise - can only be matched by the crass arrogance of the faceless ones who have neither the guts nor the integrity to enter into reasoned debate.

Your correspondents, Adrian Shurmer and Co, must keep the pressure on for common sense to prevail and for someone in authority to at least acknowledge that meddling with our roads network involves motorists and pedestrians equally, with cyclists and all other road users being considered, before placing humps or other obstructions.

KEVIN B ELVEY, Sudell Road, Darwen.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.