ACTION could be taken to stop heavy lorries using a quiet country lane.

Blackrod town council has voted to support a move to bring in chicanes and a weight restriction on Crown Lane and Station Road.

People living in the two streets say they are tired of heavy goods vehicles using their roads as a short cut from Chorley New Road to the A6 Blackrod by-pass.

Last month, residents responded to a Bolton Council survey which asked whether they preferred a weight restriction on the road or the installation of chicanes.

But Blackrod Town Council has voted to unite the two options in a bid to curb heavy traffic on the road and ease residents' congestion woes. Town Mayor Cllr Keith Bowes said: "We can unite both options, I do not see why they should be mutually exclusive."

The town council's recommendation will be passed to Bolton Council which will make the final decision after the survey found that residents were split down the middle on which move to introduce.

The survey was delivered to 600 residents and 47 per cent replied. Ward councillor Martin Cox said: "We have never had such a response from a consultation. But this is the biggest issue in the area."

Some residents do not think either measure will solve the problem, as the weight restriction would only apply to through traffic and not to businesses already established in Crown Lane and Station Road, such as the recycling and skip hire firm J Dickinson and Sons.

Ken Crook, aged 74, said that Crown Lane used to be a quiet country road but now some of the lorries using it were huge.

Blackrod Town Council decided last week to refuse an application from J Dickinson and Sons to vary its hours of operating, which would allow its vehicles to start using the road from 6am, rather than the current 7am start.

The application would also allow the firm to operate seven days a week. But councillors turned down the plans after residents packed into a meeting of the town council to protest.

Bolton Council now has to decide which measure to take up.