A ROAD which has been described as Croydon's answer to Brands Hatch has been the scene of four traffic accidents in a fortnight.
Residents in Grange Road, Thornton Heath, have told the Advertiser they fear someone will die on the treacherous street before any traffic calming measures are put into place.
Paul Etheridge, 64, who lives in Grange Road, said there seemed to be at least one crash outside his house a week – and two weeks ago there were three.
He added: "The road is treacherous. It has a strange little bend at the bottom and the cars just shoot down into the bollards or even sometimes over fences and into front gardens.
"I've had neighbours whose wall was wiped out. I've been living here for 36 years and something is always going on. This week a car was on its roof, and the owner just left it there.
"If there were bumps or traffic calming measures down the road, that would help a lot.
"There's a massive chance of someone getting hurt around here. I spoke to a man from the council once who was doing a survey along the road.
"He told me that the council won't do anything about it until someone is killed."
Anne and Tony Donoghue live two doors away from Mr Etheridge and have had a car crash into their front garden.
Anne said: "Two Tuesdays ago a car demolished two bollards in front of our house as well as a lamp post across the road. Yet again the driver abandoned the car.
"There was also a crash diagonally opposite us which involved three cars but we did not see that happen. Something must be done before someone dies."
Councillor Pat Ryan told the Advertiser that although he has informed the council of the problem, his words are falling on "deaf ears".
He said: "I am exceptionally sorry that the residents of Grange Road have to continue suffering from experiencing so many accidents.
"It is particularly galling that Croydon Council continue to ignore those serious accidents.
"I presented a large petition a few years ago calling for urgent traffic calming measures to be installed on Grange Road, but the petition fell on deaf ears at Croydon Council.
"This road is used as a race track – it is like Brands Hatch. Failing to take necessary action to prevent these accidents could result in a fatality. It is petrifying."
A Croydon Council spokesman said a number of measures had already been taken to reduce speeding. She added: "We have been concerned about the speed of traffic on Grange Road and have introduced a number of traffic calming measures to encourage motorists to comply with the speed limit. It is disappointing that some motorists still persist in speeding through this junction and the council believes that the only practicable solution to this problem will be through enforcement, which lies with the police, and we are working with traffic officers to carry out additional speed enforcement, commensurate with their other duties. In addition, the Thornton Heath safer neighbourhood team has carried out their RoadWatch project. This project uses local resident volunteers, supported by the police community support officers, to monitor traffic speeds using laser guns and electronic display signs. The information gathered by the teams is then passed on to the police, to target regular offenders for speed enforcement."