Crow Trees Brow will close to traffic from Saturday, October 10th, until Sunday, December 13th, with traffic diverted via Worston Road, the A59 Whalley to Clitheroe Bypass and Sawley Road.

Pedestrians will still be able to access the village thanks to a temporary bridge, which engineers from Lancashire County Council installed on Saturday.

This structure, which goes over the railway line, was put up at short notice after Network Rail gave the council permission to proceed.

Complaints had been made to the Clitheroe Advertiser last week after this work was delayed leading to the cancellation of a local charity evening.

The temporary structure, which will also carry electricity, water, telephones, sewers and gas services over the railway to Chatburn, is the first vital step towards carrying out the essential road bridge reconstruction works in the autumn.

David Hurford, at Lancashire County Council, said: "We are working hard to complete these vital works while causing the minimum disruption to the people of Chatburn. We would like to thank villagers for their patience while this essential work takes place. There will still be road access to the village via the local bypass during the nine week building period."

The road bridge, which is designed to last for the next 120 years, will replace the current Crow Trees Brow Bridge which has been in use since 1870.