FEARING a fatal road accident lies just around the corner has become a way of life for Paul Coxhead but the council won't act until this nightmare becomes a grim reality.

His front garden wall, currently a pile of rubble, has been demolished three times by cars that come careering round the bend of Hathaway Road into Ridgeway Road in Kingsdown.

Paul said: "We are living alongside a race track. But no matter how many times our wall is mowed down, getting the council to do anything about it is like banging your head against a brick wall."

Despite repeatedly having warned Swindon Council that the road is a death-trap in waiting, action has yet to be taken.

Now Paul, 42, and his neighbours are mounting a campaign for speed cameras to be installed in the road in a bid to stop motorists hurtling round the bend.

The wall first hit the Advertiser's headlines in 1996, when a wayward car ploughed through Paul's front garden, stopping just 18 inches before his front window.

Eight months later the wall was destroyed by a Ford Sierra that almost collided with Paul as he left for work at 6am. The car also felled a 16ft tree with a 10-inch trunk.

Only last month another motorist lost control of his car and ended up in Paul's front garden.

Tina Doyle, Paul's common-law wife, said: "It happened when children were walking home from school. In fact it narrowly missed a young boy who lives across our road. Whenever I hear a screech of brakes, I shudder with fright. It's petrifying and appalling that someone has to die before anything is done."

Tina fears for her daughters, Justine, 19, and Rebecca, 23, who park their cars on the roadside.

She said: "If my daughters were arriving home during one of these collisions or countless near-misses, they probably wouldn't be alive today. It's not safe to step outside our front door."

Neighbours Steve and Rebecca Cunningham share fears that the road is a fatal accident hotspot waiting to happen.

Steve, 42, said: "We have three young children, Florence, Emily and James, all under 10. We don't let them play outside in the front because the area resembles a grand prix. Every time you step outside, you are basically dicing with death."

Residents believe the root cause of the problem is motorists rushing to or from work and cutting through their quiet suburb to reach places like the Honda factory, near Stratton.

Despite persistent requests for traffic calming schemes to combat speeding, Swindon Council is not planning any action.

Council spokeswoman Lynda Fleming said: "Last year, we had 30 requests for traffic calming schemes. These, including Ridgeway Road, were considered in our annual local safety review."

She claims studies of the road found the average speed was a little more than 30mph.

"There were no injuries during this period. Given the council's limited resources, priority must be given to more dangerous sites," she added.