DESPERATE residents have called for action to be taken on a danger junction “before people are killed”.

The people of Hawkwell fear there could soon be fatalities if safety measures are not stepped up on Main Road, near the junction with Thorpe Road.

It follows several years of crashes and injuries, which residents say are caused by too many motorists misjudging the bends of the road and coming around too fast.

David Wilson, 45, who lives on the road, has witnessed several crashes outside his front door, and has now written to Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois asking him to pressure Essex Highways into taking action.

He said: “It’s the curve in the road which catches people out.

“A lot of people will come around them faster than 30 miles an hour, and end up losing control of the car because they have to swerve quickly.

“Unfortunately the next time there could well be a fatality. We have had so many near misses it is unbelievable.

“The second from last could have easily killed my neighbour, or her baby, if she had been loading her child on her own driveway.

“There was a constant issue with crashes for about two to three years, then things died down a bit, but now it’s flared up again.

“One accident was early morning with scores of school children at the zebra crossing area, it could have bean catastrophic, it was pure fluke it wasn’t.”

Mr Wilson has urged Essex Highways to introduce more roundabouts and average speed cameras on the road.

He added: “I don’t want to bash highways, I know there’s been cutbacks, but there’s a real fear that someone will lose their life on this road.”

An Essex Highways spokesman said: “It is important that issues involving particular locations such as this are assessed locally.

“We would ask that any concerns that the residents have are provided to the local Essex County councillor for the area, so that they can take the issue to the Local Highways Panel for consideration.”