DRIVERS have complained that Whitebirk roundabout has become a "nightmare" as work to improve it continues.

The roundabout, at the border of Blackburn and Hyndburn at junction six of the M65, is undergoing a £2million improvement project to widen roads and install traffic lights.

New road lane markings were also added to the adjoining Red Lion roundabout on Wednesday as part of the project.

The markings are different to those previously used, and engineers are having to put extra signs up to avoid motorists ending up in the wrong lane.

Samantha Dempsey commutes every day from Rossendale to Prestige Beds, Burnley Road, by the Red Lion roundabout.

The 32-year-old said: "I have to use the Whitebirk roundabout it twice a day and I hate it. It's taking me about one and a half hours to get home. It's a nightmare. Since the roadworks have been going on it's a lot worse.

"Nobody knows where they are meant to be going and what lane they are meant to be going in.

"Traffic is just queued up everywhere and people are criss-crossing all the time. They don't seem to know what lane to go in."

Road police are reporting no accidents on the roundabout since the markings were put in, and say traffic has not been any worse since the work began.

But Emma Howard, who works at McDonald's, next to the Red Lion pub, said it was a potentially hazardous spot.

The 22-year-old said: "I nearly crashed my car the other night. Nobody knows where they are going - it's a bit of a nightmare."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council, which is carrying out the work for the Highways Agency, said: "We have altered the road markings on the Red Lion roundabout to reflect the fact that the turn-off onto the Whitebirk roundabout approach starts off as one lane only.

"Now that the markings are down we have discussed how motorists can be assisted further and so advance signs, which make it clear which lane is for the roundabout, are to go in.

"As with any changes to road layouts, road users will take a little time to get used to the new arrangements."

The roundabout is prone to dangerous tailbacks on the motorway at busy times and has been branded Lancashire's worst accident hotspot.

County chiefs say the 13-week project, due to finish in early 2008, is necessary to help traffic run more smoothly.

Overhead traffic lights will go live at the end of the project.