A PENSIONER has urged council bosses to clear a "hazard-ous" footpath near his home.

Neil Linaker was hurt when he fell trying to get past giant iron sheets that block the pathway off Queen's Park Road, Blackburn, as he walked home.

The 74-year-old said nothing had been done to shift the sheets, which were part of a fence which youths used to make a bonfire.

Having hung perilously over the path since November 5, the 10-foot-high sheets fell to the floor in windy weather just before Christmas.

The fence surrounds the now-demolished Queen's Park flats.

Mr Linaker, of Borrow-dale Avenue, said: "The lower stretch of this footpath and its borders are in an appalling state and blight the whole neighbourhood.

"In the first place they need to come and remove the fencing, which is very dangerous. In the wet it gets slippery and a hazard to say the least.

"It used to be very pretty, but now it looks like a war zone."

Mr Linaker has prev-iously complained about drivers using the footpath as an illegal shortcut, ruining the ground. After the story was reported in the Lancashire Telegraph, council chiefs put bollards in place to block the path from cars.

Ward councillor for Shadsworth with White-birk Tony Humphrys said the area was a "natural beauty area" and promised to look into the matter.

He said: "I will get on to people and get it fixed. It's unacceptable - children use that path and it has to be open."

Councillor Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration on Black-burn with Darwen Council, said: "Respon-sibility for maintenance of the fence lies with the adjacent landowner.

"Now that this problem has been reported to the council we will ensure that the footpath is made safe and will contact the owner of the land and make sure that the fence is repaired."