A DEFIANT shop owner has vowed that she will lay down in the road rather than allow workmen to build traffic calming measures outside her business.

Angry Norma Madeley is adamant that a traffic calming extension to the pavement in front of her memorial showroom will ruin trade and should not be created.

She has parked her car in the spot where workmen should have started work on Monday and has refused to move it until highways bosses agree to make a much smaller extension to the pavement.

Mrs Madeley, who runs Loving Memories memorials on Chorley Old Road with her two sons, said: "I objected to this as soon as the plans were published, but no one seems bothered about what I think. They just want to bulldoze their way through regardless.

"The car will stay there until the man in charge of all this work comes to see me and sorts this out face to face."

The traffic calming work is being carried out as part of a deal agreed between Bolton Council and burger giant McDonald's who are due to open a new restaurant on the site of the former Jolly Miller pub.

The restaurant chain is spending £35,000 on building pedestrian refuges and build-outs on Chorley Old Road. The build-outs slow traffic down by narrowing the carriageway and also help pedestrians, especially children, to cross the road more easily.

McDonald's will also create parking bays for residents.

Mrs Madeley fears that if customers cannot park in front of her showroom she will lose business.

She said: "A lot of elderly and upset people visit us at a very upsetting time to make arrangements for loved ones who have passed away. If this thing is built they will have to walk some distance to reach us."

She added: "I have re-mortgaged my house for my business and I don't want to risk losing it for the sake of a cheeseburger and some changes to the road.

"They will be making the road so narrow it is unbelievable."

Mrs Madeley is also worried that large lorries making deliveries of head stones will not be able to park if the road is narrowed.

A council spokesman said: "There have been a number of accidents in this area, where two pedestrians have been injured.

"The council was concerned that steps should be taken to make the road safer and with the co-operation of McDonald's it was proposed that traffic calming measures should be introduced."

He said full consultations were carried out with local people. Of 38 questionnaires sent out, 18 were returned and 10 people said they were in favour of the scheme.

He added: "Mrs Madeley raised the issue about parking outside the shop and we recognise the points she has made.

"The end of the parking bay is to be formed by a small projection of the footway to mark out the parking bay and to assist pedestrians to cross. The effect of this will be the loss of half a parking space outside the premises adding a negligible amount to the distance people will have to walk. Mrs Madeley would in any case not have any control of who parks in this location.

"Staff have been to the site, measured out the area and shown Mrs Madeley exactly what the change will mean, and we are more than willing to explain the road safety work to her again if she wishes."

Mrs Madeley is pictured above with son Allan