HORSE riders have called for better signage and safer bridleways in Tockholes.

At a meeting hosted by the British Horse Society and Darwen MP Jake Berry, horse riders who live or keep their animals in the village voiced their concerns about road safety.

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The meeting was organised by rider Joanne Heys, whose horse was hit by a car in November last year near Tockholes Road.

The incident, which left her horse with a punctured knee, alerted her to drivers going too fast and not being educated enough about how to pass horses.

Many who attended felt that there was lack of signage in Tockholes Road warning people that there may be horses around and the bridleways were in a bad condition.

Yvonne Plant, a 49-year-old from Darwen who keeps her horse in Tockholes, said: “I do not think its the drivers in the village that are causing problems, they are very courteous usually.

“It’s the people coming from elsewhere, but I think there needs to be better signs to warn them about horses.

“I think the top of Tockholes Road needs to have the speed limit decreased as well, as it’s 50mph at the moment and there are no pavements.

“The bridleways are not in a good condition, they get big puddles in them after big downpours.”

Mrs Heys’ horse bolted towards Tockholes Road off a bridleway after a horse in front of him spooked, leading to the crash.

Staff from the Society shared videos at the meeting of how carelessly some drivers pass horses and how easy it was to spook a horse.

They pushed the Dead or Dead Slow campaign, which is trying to educate drivers about going a maximum of 15mph when passing a horse.

Mr Berry, who came to the rescue of a runaway horse in Hoddlesden two years ago, said that he would like to get more emphasis put into driving tests about passing horses.

He said: “I want to really try and educate people about how to safely drive around horses because the statistics are shocking.

“Thirty-eight deaths in the last five years is awful.

“I will be bringing this up in Parliament.”

“I want people to have horse safety in their mind when they get into their car in East Lancashire.

“It is in the highway code but I think this needs to be strengthened somehow.”

The Tory MP urged all who attended to put pressure on Blackburn with Darwen Council to improve the roads.

He said: “Our roads are not race tracks and we have to make this a priority for the council to get better signs and improve the bridleways.

“But it’s a numbers game, only by coming together can we put pressure on them.

“The council has said that it will be looking at the roads in six weeks time and hopefully at that point they will decide to improve things.”