COUNCIL bosses have slammed ‘idiotic’ drivers using bus lanes after a second vehicle smashed into a raised bollard.

Video footage of motorists running into the fixed barrier in Blackburn at speeds of more than 30mph have been released in a bid to prevent further incidents.

The clips, which one senior council official said resembled crash-test dummy footage, were captured in St Paul’s Street, next to the Blackburn College campus.

In the most recent incident, a man driving a £15,000 Mini collided head-on into the bollard, badly damaging the front of the car.

It appears from the footage that he did not see the bollard.

In April, the driver of a Honda Jazz also ignored a series of no entry signs before coming to a spectacular and sudden halt, mounting the bollard and raising the front of the vehicle.

The accidents caused more than £20,000 of damage to the automatic bollards and camera equipment.

The footage is now being been used by the council’s legal team to pursue insurance claims against both drivers.

Dave Harling, executive member for regeneration, said drivers needed to follow the highway code and not use bus lanes. He branded anyone who ignored no entry signs as idiotic.

He said: “Drivers colliding with the bus gate bollards have ignored a range of warning signs, no entry signs and changes to the road layout.”

St Paul’s Street, which links Alma Street to Montague Street, was reopened in December 2011, but only to buses.

It was seen by planners as a route to bring public transport into the centre of town, close to the new university building and health centre in Barbara Castle Way.

The road had previously been closed for around two years during lengthy construction work on the campus.

A spokesman for the council’s road safety team said: “Buses using the route are fitted with an automatic sensor which as they approach lowers the barrier and allows them to pass through.

“At all other times the bollards remain raised.

“To enter the area, drivers have to ignore cul-de-sac signs when leaving Alma Street or Montague Street before passing under two large no entry signs.”

The road safety team in Blackburn have also used the video clips to reinforce a road safety message on seatbelts.

Councillor Harling said: “The one positive to take out of this is that they have at least been wearing their seatbelts when they crashed.

“We have decided to release this footage as part of our Your Life Your Call campaign as it clearly demonstrates the benefits of wearing a seatbelt.

“The driver’s have obviously been at fault here but there is no doubt that their decision to wear a seatbelt has stopped them from being injured.”

No criminal proceedings have been brought against the drivers.