Village calls for road use cuts

36,000 vehicles broke Barnston's speed limit in one week

An Essex village which has seen traffic levels almost treble has called for its main route to be reclassified.

The A120 through Barnston forms part of the main trunk route from Chelmsford to Stansted with 11,000 vehicles using it each day - up from 4,000 in the 1980s.

Residents are calling for the road to be re-classified, from an A to a B, to cut the number of cars passing through.

The county council said it had written to the transport minister to urge this, but no reply has yet been given.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said a letter had been recieved and was still under consideration.

As well as being concerned with the volume of cars, residents have said vehicles are speeding through the village.

Despite warning signs urging motorists to slow down, 36,000 drivers broke the 30mph speed limit in just one week, police said.

Karen Collop, a villager, told BBC News: "The children can't even cross the road - there's no pelican crossings, there's no zebra crossings, there's no where for the to children to cross the road.

"You take your life in your own hands crossing this road or walking down this road."