Cleveleys volunteers pin mocking poems to 'eyesore' plastic railings on promenade to get them replaced

Volunteers at Care for Cleveleys called for Lancashire County Council to remove the orange plastic railings it installed after a crash damaged the originals.

The community group, which works to look after the town, said the 'eyesore' had been in place for over a year, with no sign of being replaced.

In protest, members of the public who are passionate about the town penned poems mocking the railings, which are held together with cable ties.

The volunteers pinned the poems to the railings in the hope it would prompt Lancashire County Council (LCC) to install safer, more appropriate materials in their place.

Jane Littlewood, founder and chairman of Care for Cleveleys, said: "Quite frankly I don't care if Father Christmas comes to replace it, it's been over 12 months and nothing has been done about it.

"It's a bit of an eyesore and it's not safe. I was talking to the ice cream man about it and he was telling me how dangerous of a corner that part of the road is, and how many people come a near-miss, especially when it's busy.

"A lot of people are in holiday mode and oblivious when they're crossing. We're just no closer to having anything done."

Jane said she hoped that by putting the poems on the railings to highlight residents' misgivings about them, they would soon be replaced.

One acrostic poem written by a member of the public read:

"Cleveleys has a missing fence

Lagging behind is a new fixture

Eighteen months is a cause of offence

Victory for Cleveleys when it receives its new feature

Eager we are to see its return

Long awaited promises to be resolved

Expectation of a problem yet to be solved

Yearning for the return of a promenade fence

Secure we'll feel when in its presence."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "The purpose of these railings is to discourage pedestrians from crossing at this point, and encourage them to find somewhere safer to cross the road. As soon as we found the railings had been damaged we removed this section and put in place a temporary barrier.

"We have been working ever since to procure railings with the same bespoke detail with a specialist fabrications contractor, and therefore match with what is already in place.

"The issue has been that due to the contractor's workload, and the pandemic, we haven't been able to progress this as quickly as we would like.

"However, a site meeting has been organised for next week so progress should be made following this."