A ROW has been prompted because all the traffic police in Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley were off duty on Friday night to attend a party.

The move to allow the officers time off together has been slammed as "appalling."

Overnight on Friday there were two serious car crashes in the Ribble Valley - a man died in Longridge and a car almost plunged down a ravine in Wilpshire.

But the nearest specialist traffic officers, who investigate the causes of crashes, had to come from Colne.

Police have defended the situation, saying that there was "more than adequate" cover for the two officers who should have been on duty.

Chief Supt Dave Mallaby, commander for Eastern Division, said: "Response times to the incidents were acceptable and there is nothing to suggest that cover was compromised.

"For a number of reasons from time to time we will allow areas to be covered by other officers but it is not a common procedure.

"The party had been authorised by managers and the cover for the division was more than adequate. Often officers from the road policing unit are not the first on the scene of an accident anyway and all police officers are trained in scene protection and first aid."

But road safety expert Adrian Shurmer, a former policeman, said the incident showed a "poor" attitude to road safety from the police.

He said: "Police standards in terms of road safety are lower than ever. How can people feel safe if there are no specialist road traffic officers on call in their area?

"It is appalling. There should be someone on call."

The office of the road policing unit in Accrington was closed on Friday night as officers attended a leaving party for Sgt Stuart Isherwood and Sgt Keith Jackson.

Sgt Jackson said: "The party was pre-arranged and it is standard procedure to make sure that we are covered from another office.

"We have a protocol in place that sees us work in partnership with our colleagues in Colne in situations like this."

The party was at the BAE Systems Canberra Club in Samlesbury.

But accidents in Preston Road, Longridge, and Whalley Road, Wilpshire, both early on Saturday, meant specialist crews from Colne had to attend.

Steve Edwards, from the Police Federation, said: "The issue of resourcing is a matter for the divisional commander and if he is satisfied that the cover is adequate then I would not have any misgivings."

Neil Greg, assistant director of road safety group the IAM Motoring Trust, said: "You want to have a quick reaction from your road traffic officers to whatever happens on the road and it is difficult to see how that could happen in a situation like this."

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said: "Clearly it is not an ideal situation and I think it needs looking at in the future to ensure that this doesn't happen again."