WELL, surprise, surprise! - despite all the traffic-calming and road markings in New Lane, Oswaldtwistle, motorists are still travelling just as fast as they did before and the residents are (quite rightly) up in arms (LET, September 11).

Never in all my years as a road safety consultant, have I ever read such a reckless, irresponsible and ignorant statement as that issued by the mayor of Hyndburn, Councillor Ian Ormerod.

Regarding residents' complaints, he said the critics of traffic calming were wrong when they said that drivers could be educated to be more careful on the roads. "The only things that will solve this problem are force or the erection of a physical barrier," he added.

When a senior councillor issues a statement like this, it shows a serious lack of intellect - so serious that I call for his (and supporters') immediate resignation before someone is either killed or seriously injured.

Coun Ormerod and like-minded councillors (and there are quite a few) are playing around with people's lives and have also wasted, and are continuing to waste, hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money in the process.

Bad enough in itself, but when they also criticise the benefits of education, they are nothing other than bigoted people of yesterday - dinosaurs - who have no role to play in today's local (or any other) government.

Get out now before you do further damage. Don't wait for next May's elections. It will be too late.

A SHURMER, Lyndon Avenue, Great Harwood.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.