QUARRY bosses have been told they can stabilise a dangerous rock face -- but residents will watch their every move.

Planning chiefs said the owners of Pilkington Quarry, Horwich, can go ahead with plans to buttress the North-eastern face with between 614,000 and 1.1 million tonnes of builders' rubble. But Bolton's planning and highways committee also said a working party of residents, councillors and council officers will be set up to monitor the work.

Members of the planning and highways committee will also ask the quarry's owners to put up signs directing lorries away from the town centre.

Residents fear toxic materials will be dumped at the bottom of the face, which was classed as a safety hazard under the 1999 Quarry Regulations.

One said: "This is a very frightening scenario. It could be an environmental disaster. We do not know what kind of materials will go in there, and the lorries will have to go through Horwich town centre."

Horwich councillor Barbara Ronson told of the residents' worries at a planning meeting this week. She said: "I do not think there is any way we can control what goes into the quarry."

Council officers said the quarry company had agreed to use some material from the site for the buttressing work.

The agreement means that less rubble will have to be brought in from building sites.

The Environment Agency will also keep check on the materials that are used during the buttressing work. The working party, which was Cllr Elaine Sherrington's idea, will meet regularly to discuss residents' concerns about the site.

It is expected to include two residents' representatives, councillors and environmental health officers.

Members of the planning and highways committee will also ask the quarry's owners to put up signs directing lorries away from the town centre.

Council officers said the success of the signs would depend largely on the goodwill of the quarry owners and the lorry drivers.

A majority of committee members voted down her motion and the application was given the go-ahead.