ANGRY residents say their demands to replace a sign at the end of a back-alley with a bollard to stop fly-tipping continue to be ignored.

In November last year, householders on Audley Range, Blackburn, called for the ‘ridiculous’ sign at the end of the back-alley to be replaced with the bollard.

They have been complaining for 20 years about vehicles nipping down the back alley to dump rubbish and then exiting onto Westbury Gardens.

They asked for a bollard to be installed to end the passageway’s use as a rat run but instead last year they saw a large blue council sign put up by the petrol station.

It says the entrance must be kept clear for ‘refuse collection’ on Wednesdays.

A resident said that months later nothing had still been done to deal with the problem and said the sign was ‘ridiculous.’

He said: “Lots of stuff has been dumped in the back-alley including slates, tiles and rubbish.

“The problem with the sign is the bin lorries cannot use the entrance to collect refuse on the alleyway.

“This is because the dog-leg turn a few yards further down is too narrow for them.

“So the bin lorries all reverse down from Westbury Gardens to collect rubbish.

“Residents have asked for a bollard but get a ridiculous sign instead.

“We’ve been complaining about this fly-tipping and a need for a bollard for years.

Former Shadsworth with Whitebirk councillor Tony Humphreys said: “I’m still concerned by this and was given assurances by Cllr Phil Riley and Cllr Jim Smith that they would have a conversation with residents about this.

“I still get phone calls about this from residents even though I’m not a councillor anymore, and something needs to be done.”

Cllr Riley, Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration boss,, said: “The council has spoken to residents about this and there wasn’t complete agreement between them about the way forward.

Borough environment boss Cllr Smith added: “We’ve spoken to residents and most of them don’t want a bollard as they use the alley for access.”

“So there will be no bollard and the sign will stay.”