PUZZLED Keith Perry could not believe his eyes when he drove past what he thought was a metal sheep pen on a bridge in Blackburn.

However, his confusion turned to anger when he learned it was just another traffic calming measure.

Lancashire County Council has said the railings are needed to ease the pressure of lorry traffic on one side of the Feniscliffe Bridge, on Preston Old Road.

It is a temporary measure until the money can be found to carry out repair work on the structure of the bridge which crosses the River Darwen.

But businessman Mr Perry is not convinced about the need for the railings. He said: "They are just a waste of money.

"I think there are easier ways of doing it, such as using kerbs stones and luminous markings.

"It looks just like a sheep pen and is an eyesore."

The kerb has been extended out across the bridge and the railings placed on top to prevent vehicles veering to the Scapa Scandia Mill side.

A county council spokesman said: "The bridge was assessed as part of a national exercise looking at the changes in lorry weight.

"It was found that the part of bridge which had been widened was weak.

"So we decided to use the railings to narrow the carriageway to the original bridge size until funding is available to carry out the repairs.

The spokesman added that the weakened bridge structure did not pose a danger.

The scheme was the idea of the county council and the installation of the railings was carried out by borough council workmen.

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