HIGHWAYS workers moved into a Mirfield street today in a bid to improve safety.

The Kirklees Council staff began building temporary pinch-points to slow down traffic using Wellhouse Lane.

The move came after local residents complained that the road was being used as a "rat run" because of road works closing nearby Dunbottle Lane.

Yorkshire Water had planned to shut Wellhouse Lane but decided against the move.

A spokesman for the council's highways service said: "Local residents were very concerned about the amount of extra traffic using the road and it was necessary to slow down the speeds.

"The temporary pinch-points and kerbs will be in place for three or four weeks, until the work in Dunbottle Lane is complete.

"It will mean that cars have to slow down and give way to each other, making the road safer."