Fylde motorists hit by double delay

The M55 eastbound was blocked near Kirkham after a cattle truck overturned on Monday morning.

Meanwhile anti-fracking protests again caused disruption on Preston New Road as police shut one lane.

Four cows escaped onto the motorway at around 8.40am and Highways England reported the route had re-opened at around 10am. Nobody was hurt but traffic was held up while the animals were recovered. And on the A583, Preston New Road, near Little Plumpton after anti-fracking campaigners staged a lock-on protest.

Five people locked themselves together across the driveway of Cuadrilla’s shale gas drill site and police were forced to use cutting equipment to release them.

Police shut the east-bound carriageway at the site and put a contraflow in place for around five hours while they were removed.

Tina Rothery from the Lancashire Nana’s anti-fracking group said the locked-on campaigners were supported by around 100 others as part of their on-going campaign.

She said: “We are running Green Mondays at the site at the moment with a different speaker each week and this time we had Jamie Peters from Friends of the Earth.

“There were around 100 people here for that and then 50 or so sat down on the driveway, peacefully, to block the entrance.

“Next week is Bank Holiday Monday which will give a chance to those who work to come along and support us.”