RESIDENTS say they are too scared to leave their homes as speeding drivers use their road as a race track.
Neighbours risk being hit by vehicles hurtling down 40mph Downhill Lane in West Boldon, Tyneside, where there is no footpath.
Locals have begged the council to install a walkway and speed cameras or bumps to deter dangerous motorists.
But until something is done, they say they live in fear every time they leave the house.
Reverend Malcolm Gourley, 84, said: "You take your life into your own hands whenever you try to get out of here.
"It’s difficult to cross the road and they go at 60 miles an hour down here, it’s a hazard.
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"And when you try to get out and they have to stop suddenly, they look at you as if you’re the idiot.
"No-one takes any notice, we need something in place to prevent the speeding, maybe some speed bumps."
The road reopened in January after a two-year closure while a new roundabout and road layout was installed at the A19 junction.
But since reopening, concerned residents say the number of vehicles has dramatically increased.
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George Dodsworth, who has lived in his detached farm house for 36 years, claims the situation is deteriorating.
The 76-year-old retired domestic appliance fitter said: "It’s getting worse and worse.
"Drivers use this as a test track, they’re always speeding.
"There’s also people on quad bikes with their two front wheels in the air belting down here.
"It isn’t safe for pedestrians. I have an eight-year-old granddaughter who can’t go out for walks as it’s dangerous.
"Ever since they made the roundabout more accessible more cars come through here at top speed."
Eve Richardson, a business manager agreed that it's a "recipe for disaster".
'BOY RACERS'
The 52-year-old said: "I was crossing the road with my dog and a woman came belting up and had to emergency break. She almost hit me.
"It’s dangerous. You can’t see cars coming when you’re pulling out of the driveway and they speed so it’s a recipe for disaster.
"We have young children here. Our neighbours have a three-year-old daughter and they can’t teach her how to ride a bike on these roads because it’s too dangerous.
"The foot path suddenly stops down the hill so you have to go on the road then back on the path, which isn’t safe.
"There are so many people who use this area for exercise and riding horses and we want it to be safe for them."
Pensioner Joyce Weugh, 79, added: "They go along like boy racers.
"You can’t even attempt to cross the road or go for walks, you have to get up on the verge of the grass.
You take your life into your own hands whenever you try to get out of here.
"We could do with a speed camera or speed bumps.
"I don’t sleep very well and I can hear the wagons going past at night.
"But, the road is small and has narrow corners, it isn’t built for those kinds of vehicles."
On top of the reckless drivers, residents have also complained about fly-tippers and litter being dumped in the area.
Eve said: "It was a fly-tippers paradise. They’ve chucked TVs, mattresses and litter on the roads.
"The council do usually clean it up but it’s quite bad."
Grandfather-of-two George added: "People throw rubbish from their windows.
"The worst thing the throw is the McDonalds wrappers.
"There’s a McDonalds nearby so there always eating it and discarding litter here."
'A RECIPE FOR DISASTER'
A spokesperson for South Tyneside Council said road safety is the authority’s "absolute priority" and officers will continue to monitor traffic and vehicle speeds on Downhill Lane.
"Temporary traffic calming measures were proposed by the council in 2020 to counter the use of Downhill Lane as a ‘rat run’ during the major National Highways scheme at Testos/A19/ Downhill Lane," they said.
"However, National Highways requested that the road was closed completely, rendering the proposed measures unnecessary.
"These measures were only ever proposed as a temporary solution for the duration of that scheme.
"Traffic surveys conducted six weeks after the reopening of Downhill Lane earlier this year show that there has been a considerable reduction in the number of vehicles using the road, from a daily average of 3,913 vehicles in 2019 to 1,197.
"Traffic speeds are also below levels at which police would consider routine enforcement.
"The regional road traffic accident data unit also reports no injury collisions along this stretch of road within the last five years.
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"There is therefore no evidence which would point to traffic calming measures being necessary."
They did, however, say the council was considering extending the existing 30mph zone "with the aim of slowing traffic on the approach to properties".
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