Serious car smash on Colne Road prompts call for action to stop Burnley 'boy racers'

Burnley North East County Coun. Usman Arif, whose division covers speeding hotspots Queensgate, Lanehead and Bank Hall, promised he would do all he could to curtail the problem when he was elected last year.

Colne Road, leading from Nelson and Burnley, has seen a number of car crashes, including fatalities in recent years, and is seen by concerned residents as a “race track” for young male drivers on most nights.

The latest collision involved two cars racing each other in the early hours of Saturday morning, resulting in them both crashing into several parked cars.

"When I was campaigning for the county seat the same issue kept coming up again and again. Residents in Colne Road, Casterton Avenue, Windermere Avenue and other streets were all saying how fed up they were with the ‘boy racers’ speeding in the area and how many were afriad to go out at night because of it,” County Coun. Arif said.

"I have been contacted by many distressed and upset elderly residents upset at the issue ever since. These boy racers driving these souped-up cars are making residents’ lives a misery and putting their own ands other people’s lives in danger.”

As such, Coun. Arif said he has written to Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden asking for his help in tackling the scourge.

"I want permanent measures to deter such drivers put in place,” he added.

"I am campaigning for proper and effective speed deterrents in this area. Mobile police speed cameras are not enough because these drivers share on social media the locations of these and know not to speed at that time. We need something more permanent.

"I will be asking county council and the police what money has been sought from Government to put measures in place.”

Coun. Arif also said more needs to be done in terms of educating from an earlier age of the dangers of reckless driving.

"There has got to be a cultural change in mindset. We have got to be active through the schools, mosques and churches as well as social media so we can stop the next generation from thinking this is acceptable.”