TRAFFIC regulations for an Oympic test event could cause problems for Leigh’s popular fishing festival.

On Sunday, the Hadleigh mountain biking course will host a competition designed to test the travel and security arrangements for the 2012 Games.

About 5,000 visitors are expected to arrive at Leigh by train to use a shuttle bus service to the venue.

To prevent congestion during the Olympic event, and to ensure a smooth run for the buses, a number of roads in Leigh will be subjected to parking suspensions, with Belton Way West closed to traffic entirely.

But people in the town are worried the measures will affected the Leigh fishing festival, taking place in the old town on Sunday.

Andy Exley, events and planning officer at Leigh Town Council, said: “We’ve had at least ten people come in about this.

“People are upset because they love the fishing festival. They support that and not the Olympics.”

Mr Exley believes the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, is doing the right thing in making such thorough preparations for the real thing next summer. However, he hoped the test event would cause minimal disruption.

He added: “Ideally the fishing festival won’t go ahead when the Olympics are on next year. We’re looking at a date a couple of weeks afterwards.”

Pat Holden, chairman of Leigh Town Council, said: “The fishing festival will be fully sign posted.

“We are getting volunteers up to the station, to make sure people know where they are going.

“We are very keen to make sure people get there and they are not put off by anything.”

The Olympic committee is making arrangements to signpost alternative routes. South-end Council has also vowed to assess how the system works for the test event, ahead of plans for the main event next year.

Derek Jarvis, Southend councillor responsible for culture and tourism, said: “Our road signage, closures and diversions take into account the fishing festival. All the other events going on have been factored into our plans.

“I believe people will be quite clearly directed to the fishing festival. After the event in Hadleigh, I’m looking forward to going to the fishing festival myself.”

Mr Jarvis said during the real Olympic event he hoped people would bear the situation and the prestige of hosting the event in mind. He said residents who will be affected have been kept up to date with plans through meetings for more than a year.