Little Bytham resident calls for lorries to be banned from village and nearly 100 sign petition to Lincolnshire County Council

Almost 100 people have signed a petition calling for heavy lorries to be banned from a village.

Ron Hoyles, 89, believes drivers of heavy vehicles are causing untold damage and posing a significant safety risk in Little Bytham.

Ron, who has lived in High Street in Little Bytham for 51 years, has seen an increase in lorries thundering through the residential road in recent years, an issue he thinks is made more dangerous by inconsiderate parking.

“Sooner or later they are going to kill somebody,” he said.

Ron, a retired council worker, added: “It is a question of safety.

“When I first moved here you could walk in the middle of the road from Little Bytham and Creeton.

“The old people have died off and newcomers have arrived with a car each which has caused a lot of traffic, as well as a lot of new homes being built.”

Ron has gone door-to-door collecting signatures on a petition to ‘ban 50 ton lorries from going through the village’ and restrict the parking on the corner of High Street and Station Road by painting double-yellow lines.

He has collected nearly 100 signatures. In the 2021 census, there were 400 people registered as living in the village.

He has sent this to chief executive of Lincolnshire County Council Debbie Barnes, along with a letter setting out his concerns.

“We have a thriving school in our village, and I am concerned by the risk taken by these children both walking to and from school and also when alighting from the school buses,” he told Ms Barnes.

“Walking the narrow pavements is hazardous for everyone as these huge lorries, many with trailers thunder past.

“The problem is made worse by inconsiderate parking by some villagers, narrowing the roads and making things even more dangerous.

“I have spoken to almost all the residents of Little Bytham and all, apart from the few with vested interests, are in agreement that the problem of these heavy vehicles causing untold damage, plus the safety concerns, must be addressed before there is a fatality. “

He added that when there are delays on the A1 the village is used as a rat run, which adds to the problem.

Ron, who lives with his wife Beryl, had his garden wall knocked down two months ago by a lorry driver who did not stop.

He believes other resident’s properties have also been hit and grass verges are being churned up by the heavy vehicles.

Richard Fenwick, head of highways service at Lincolnshire County Council, said the council is looking at the idea and seeing what is possible at this location, after receiving the petition in mid-June.

He added: "It is vital to get local views like these from residents who really know the traffic issues their area faces, and we thank Mr Hoyles expressly for the work he has done in getting this information to us so far."