Braintree: Panfield Lane residents 'scared' over car crashes

Residents in Panfield Lane, Braintree, have spoken out about collisions that have happened in the area.

The vehicle collisions are taking place between the stretch of road between Kings Road and Churchill Road.

There is a “hot spot” where the road is sloped and inclined, motorists on one side of the road will drive up the incline.

Danger area - the area in Panfield Lane where the crashes continue to happen. (Image: Public)

The drivers on the other side will be going down the hill, but right in the middle there is a tight spot where cars going at an increased speed can crash into each other.

This is due to the narrowness of the road and when resident’s cars are parked on the side.

However, residents of the road claim there is an increased amount of traffic passing through as motorists are using Panfield Lane to get onto the A120.

Tina Earle, 61, has lived on the road for 28 years and has two children.

On June 27 last year, her daughter’s birthday, she claims there was a collision around 7.30pm, as the family heard an “almighty noise”, where her daughter's car and a partner's car were written off.

Narrow - Residents' parked cars in Panfield Lane facing towards Churchill Road (Image: Newsquest)

What had happened is that one car on the road hit another which then skidded off, crashing into the resident’s parked cars, allegedly one driver attempted to flee, the incident was reported to the police.

On February 10, a similar event occurred where Tina’s courtesy car was hit around 11pm at night.

On March 5, her neighbour’s car was hit, and the police was called again and an ambulance as two occupants of a vehicle had sustained injuries.

Tina said: “It’s made us feel as residents very vulnerable, it’s affected our mental health.

“How much more is going to happen before there is a possible fatality?”

The residents have escalated these incidents and road concerns to Braintree MP James Cleverly, the ward councillor, Braintree District Council, and in the past years, Essex Highways.

As a 30mph area, Tina would like for speed humps or a speed camera or something implemented to stop what is occurring.

Tod Fowler, 58, has lived in Panfield Lane of 17 years and he shares Tina’s concerns.

“I am concerned for my family members and for other street members for their safety.

“They seem to be becoming more frequent, we’ve always had accidents in the road over the years.

Damaged - an illustrative image of a smashed car (Image: Pixabay)

Parking spaces - an image which shows where the residents normally park on the road (Image: Public)

“I had a few years ago the entire side of my parked car was completely trashed, it cost £2,500 to fix.

“For residents getting out their parked cars, it could be disastrous.

“I would like some sort of road calming measures put in place.”

A spokesman for Essex Highways said: “The best way for residents who are concerned about local safety issues to raise them is to contact their local Essex County Councillor.

"They can then discuss and raise any concerns through the appropriate channels.”