Plans to build an off-road bike track in Chorley have been scrapped after overwhelming opposition left the council unable to find a suitable site.

For several months locations have been sought for a track to help solve the problem of illegal riding of motorbikes which have blighted areas such as Denham Quarry in Brindle and Duxbury Park.

In 2004, police received 546 complaints of motorcycle nuisance, 80 riders were issued with warnings and 10 bikes were confiscated.

In February, a consultation document was released detailing plans for a 21-acre trails, moto-cross and quad-bike track at Chisnall in Coppull. The plans were shelved after objections from residents and a petition organised by the parish council.

In recent weeks Ellerbeck Quarry, Adlington, had also been named as a possible site leading to the formation of Ellerbeck Action Group who strongly opposed the plans.

At a meeting of the council's executive cabinet last Thursday (September 29), leader Jack Wilson said: "We have made a genuine attempt to resolve this problem, but it has become increasingly obvious from the volume of opposition that there is nowhere in the borough that such a facility can be reasonably built.

"As a result we will cease trying to find somewhere to put a track. We will continue to support the efforts of the police and neighbourhood wardens in dealing with the problems of bike nuisance."