Rage at rat-runners after vital safety posts removed

Bollards put in to stop traffic driving down Valpy Avenue in Mile Cross have been missing for roughly two years - after they were taken out in an emergency.

Although it was two years ago the county council only filled in the holes from the missing posts at the corner of Vale Green six months ago.

Trevor Wilson, 73, lives at the junction and said he often gets woken up in the middle of the night by headlights and screeching tyres.

Trevor Wilson pictured where rat-runners are squeezing through following the removal of two wooden posts on one side of the road (Image: Archant)

Mr Wilson added: "There are two to three cars an hour. There are taxis, minibuses, lorries and all sorts coming through here.

"It is non-stop and hugely annoying. Someone is going to get hurt before long."

And Trevor Palmer, 73, who regularly walks his dog along Valpy Avenue, said he was nearly knocked down by a car last week.

He had to quickly hop out of the way.

"The people driving through are using it like a race track," Mr Palmer said.

"Mile Cross schoolchildren come down to use the nature reserve in Valpy Avenue and often cross the road. They are not expecting people to drive down there at speed."

The bollards had originally been installed in response to a schoolchild being hit by a vehicle around 10 years ago.

The junction of Valpy Avenue and Vale Green in Mile Cross (Image: Archant)

Those living nearby said that two of the posts on the same side of the path had been taken out to allow emergency vehicles to pass through.

They added that rat-runners have been heard "wheel-spinning" at the bottom of the Vale Green cul-de-sac when they realise it is a dead end and slam on the breaks.

Mile Cross county councillor Chrissie Rumsby said these were concerns raised with her, as well as fears that children are often playing and cycling in the area.

One of the remaining wooden posts which has been scraped by cars squeezing through (Image: Archant)

Andy Ellis, highways area manager, said: “The bollards will be replaced however issues with the supply chain, as is the case with the construction industry nationally, means we have not been able to carry out the work as quickly as we would have hoped.”