A RAIL campaigner has renewed calls for a Blackburn halt to be tidied up and re-opened.

Peter Brass, from the Friends of the Blackburn-Hellifield Line, said Daisyfield station, which closed to passengers in 1958, had become ‘an utter disgrace’.

He said upgrades to the line should be made to coincide with ongoing investment to redevelop the town’s bus station and Cathedral Quarter.

The signal box at Daisyfield, off Moss Street, was given Grade Two listed status last November but the platform remains unkempt and overgrown with weeds.

Mr Brass, who runs a newsagents in Whalley Road, Clitheroe, said: “For those arriving on the Clitheroe to Manchester service, this area is an utter disgrace.

“A mass of weeds and rubbish gives a poor impression of Blackburn, but with just a few days work the station could do what it was built for.

“We could have two improvements for the price of one – a clean, bright entry to Blackburn and improved journey times and reduced costs for those travelling.”

The station was opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1872.

But it was closed by British Railways in 1958.

Mr Brass said he welcomed calls by Ewood councillor Maureen Bateson last month for improved rail connections into Blackburn.

He added: “In the late 1990s a station was to be built for the Ewood area, fully funded by Lancashire County Council.

“If there was a good case then, now it must be overwhelming and should be revived.

“The benefits to both home and away fans and the community would be tremendous.

“If Graham Jones, Jack Straw and Jake Berry all support the £50billion HS2, the surely they must support the opening of local stations to benefit those who have elected them.”