Car crahes into Field End Road house for the fifth time

A COUPLE fear someone will soon be killed outside their house after a car crashed into their front garden for the fifth time in less than four years.

Roy, 79, and Jackie Redrup, 55, have lived in Field End Road, near the junction with Farthing Close, in Eastcote, for 15 years, but these freak accidents only started in 2006.

The latest crash happened on November 1, when an off-duty police officer careered through both their front garden walls before ending up on its side next to their house.

The second crash, in October 2007, involved a car hitting their hedge before flipping over it and landing on their neighbours' cars in their driveway.

Mr Redrup said: "The area has become an absolute danger to any pedestrian.

"In the morning and the evening there's a lot of traffic so the cars move slowly, but at night they travel at great speeds.

"In all the accidents the drivers said they suddenly lost control of their cars for some reason."

Mrs Redrup thinks excessive speed is the reason for the crashes and wants Hillingdon Council to do something about the road before someone is hurt.

She said: "This is a 30mph road and if the people who crashed had been doing 30mph or less they might have lost control of their cars but they wouldn't have done as much damage to our property as they did.

"It's not about our walls because we can replace them, but one day someone will be killed."
The couple think the road should be made 20mph or a speed camera should be installed. They have also contacted Eastcote Residents' Association (ERA) for their help.

Ian Brooks, transport and road safety member for the ERA, said: "The volume and speed of cars on the roads is creating risks, which is leading to crashes, which is then leading to a perception that there's a lack of safety. That is undermining the quality of life because less people want to walk and cycle, and therefore congestion increases.

"We are concerned that the responsible authorities are not working effectively together on this."

Mary Worrall, head of highways and green spaces at the council, said: "Hillingdon Council is aware of issues relating to this specific area and has already been liaising with the owner of the affected property to look at ways that these issues can be addressed.

"The accidents that have happened in this part of the road have been a result of drivers not taking due care and attention and so the council is considering ways to ensure drivers are using this road more safely."