BUILDERS have been stopped in their tracks by a weed which could hold up work for years.

Developer Fairclough homes won permission to build 61 homes in Cherwell Road, Westhoughton, last spring but has now abandoned the site while plant specialists rid the area of the notorious Japanese Knotweed.

Just two houses have been built so far. The news has comes as a blow to councillors and residents in the area who were set to benefit from a traffic-calming scheme to be installed when the homes were finished.

The plant, which was introduced into the country in the 19th century, is renowned for the remarkable strength of its roots - often up to 15 metres long - which can wreak havoc if they penetrate concrete structures.

Knotweed can grow at a rate of an inch per day and its bamboo-like stems can reach a height of two metres.

The weed will have to be treated with chemicals and tonnes of soil removed.

Westhoughton town councillor Arthur Price fears completion could be delayed by years and is worried that the busy rat run could soon be the scene of a serious accident involving one of the many young children who live in the area. Traffic-calming measures will have to be put on hold to allow access for lorries bringing materials to the site.

Residents on the estate called for traffic-calming in 2001 after Cherwell Road became a major rat run for motorists wanting to miss the town centre gridlock by cutting from Church Street to Park Road.

Cllr Price is now calling for a swift resolution to long-standing uncertainty over the site.

He said: "The way the estate is used as a shortcut at the moment makes it very dangerous for children."

A spokesman for Bolton Council's planning department said: "As far as we are aware, the builders are off site because of this weed and not a lot of work seems to be getting done in the meantime.

"It will have to be dealt with and the ground passed fit for building.

"It seems that the work needs to be done in the summer because that is when the weed is most easy to clear."

A spokesman for Fairclough Homes said: "The site is due to open in May but we could be looking at a few years for the site to be finished."