A NEW pavement surface on Accrington's main shopping street has been roundly criticised with some saying it looks like 'spilt cornflakes'.

Hyndburn Council has removed the central path on Broadway and replaced it with black asphalt combined with yellow chippings.

The new surface runs from the Union Street junction to Whalley Road.

The council has said the change was part of a revamp of Broadway to make it “more welcoming for residents and visitors.”

But some who visited the town centre have not liked its new look.

Shopper John Harrington, from Accrington, said: “Why has it been changed? It looks like someone has spread cornflakes everywhere. I don’t understand why it looks like this.”

Several people took to social media to express their distaste for the new surface.

Barbara Whittaker: “Has someone spilt a pack of cornflakes?”

Casey Joanne said: “I think it looks horrible to be honest. I saw it the other day and said to my husband it looks a mess.”

Cllr Tony Dobson, leader of the Conservative group on Hyndburn Council, said: “It’s incredible really I can’t believe the controlling group have authorised and paid for that. The work did need doing but not like this.

“I would be mortified at what has been done."

Cllr Paul Cox, deputy Hyndburn Council leader and cabinet member for Accrington town centre, said: “The surface repairs are part of the revamp of Broadway to make it more welcoming for residents and visitors, which will also include the replacement of a large number of damaged bollards and paving slabs, repairs to the seating and litter bins and replacing a tree that has died.

“The original red surfacing of Broadway had seriously degraded over the years, giving rise to some health and safety concerns and a poor overall appearance, so we’ve replaced it with a higher quality asphalt paving with chippings which will darken over time to complement the adjacent paving.”

Other shoppers, such as Benji Marshall from Accrington, said: “Looks like the carpet of a cinema after a busy evening.”

Anne Shaw said: “It looks like it needs a good sweep.”

Victoria Mac said: “My daughter asked why they were putting cinder toffee in the cement."