RESIDENTS on unadopted streets in the Valley are hoping they will be Streets Ahead now they have formally launched a group to get their roads to adoptable standard.

And although the new group Streets Ahead is initially campaigning to upgrade streets in Bacup and Stacksteads it will be covering the whole of Rossendale and eventually East Lancashire.

It is chaired by Bacup postie Dale Connearn who was instrumental in forming the group after he realised how many unadopted streets there were in Bacup and Stacksteads.

The father-of-three lives on unadopted Bankfield Street in Stacksteads and knows the problems faced by residents -- dirty roads, uneven paths for pushchairs and prams and damage to cars because of the uneven road surface.

He said: "We had a meeting of about 20 volunteers and we agreed the name. We now have to design a logo and letterheads.

"Once we have done that we will be making fliers and going round Bacup and Stacksteads posting them through the letter boxes of every resident who lives on an unadopted street.

"We will also be applying for grants to try to get the streets brought up to standard.

"I have a database of 150 people who have come forward so far and are interested in the scheme and our next meeting will be on June 21 at 8pm at Bacup Cricket Club. That will be a meeting of volunteers and we are always on the lookout for more people to come forward."

He said an appeal for people from other boroughs to join the campaign brought calls from Blackburn and Padiham and he was hoping once the Bacup group was established to branch out into other areas of East Lancashire.

Streets Ahead is hoping to meet up with council officers from Rossendale to see if they can get a reduction on their council tax bills because of their streets' unadopted status.

Dale added: "By the next meeting we will know who our MP is and we will be seeking their support with our campaign."