RESIDENTS in Dilton Marsh are demanding council chiefs act now to calm traffic on a 'horrendous' stretch of road in the village.

The campaigners say the speed and volume of traffic on Tower Hill is an increasing problem, with near misses occurring every day.

The situation was brought into sharper focus last week when a resident was involved in a three-vehicle smash that saw her car spin across the road. Campaigners claim Wiltshire County Council has not listened properly to their concerns and fear a fatal crash could result if the road remains as it is.

Now that traffic-calming measures have been put in on Dilton Marsh High Street, more cars are using the Tower Hill route towards Westbury's Leigh Park estate.

Last month only £10,000 of a £30,000 sum earmarked to improve the road was offered to Tower Hill, prompting renewed calls to tackle the problem.

Campaigner and Tower Hill resident Mary McGrath said the road's single traffic island was inadequate to deal with speeding cars.

She said: "The speed and volume of the traffic along here is horrendous. All that we are saying is that if you don't put in more traffic islands can we at least have speed humps?

"Traffic just doesn't use the High Street any more. I've got a 10-year-old who goes to Matravers School in September and she is expected to walk up and down that road with no footpath."

In 2001 campaigners organised a 700-signature petition opposing the extension of the Leigh Park distributor road to Tower Hill.

When the road building went ahead they claim promised safety improvements on Tower Hill were never fully implemented, despite Leigh Park developer Persimmon Homes setting aside the £30,000.

Last night parish councillor David Howells was due to lobby district council planners to reverse the earlier decision and get the full £30,000 spent on Tower Hill.

He said: "I've been here just over 16 years and there have been a series of minor and major accidents. But there seems to be a blindness towards this.

"The one last week was a monster of an accident. She was so badly shaken up she couldn't talk about it."

A spokesman for Wiltshire County Council said: "Traffic calming was installed at Tower Hill by the county council and paid for by the developers of the Leigh Park development, Persimmon Homes. But the residents complained about one of the features installed and it was removed. The developers and the county council are currently reviewing the situation.

"Persimmon Homes are making a £30,000 planning contribution. The county council, having consulted other interested parties, is suggesting that £20,000 of that money could be spent on traffic calming in Dilton Marsh, as the development has increased traffic through the village."