Rat run road blocked by demo

Fed-up families were this afternoon blocking a Walsall road with their cars in a protest against motorists who use the route as a high-speed rat-run.

Seven-year-old Amy Sutton has been knocked down twice in Fleming Road, Beechdale, in 18 months.

She suffered cuts and bruises following the latest accident and was treated at the Manor Hospital.

Neighbours have now united to mount the unusual protest.

They claim drivers use the road to bypass the traffic lights and travel from the busy Stephenson Avenue to Bloxwich Lane and Leamore Lane.

They also believe many motorists ignore the 30 mph speed limit.

Families want the short road to effectively be halved by putting bollards in the centre and creating two cul-de-sacs either side of the partition.

Neighbours Kelly Poston and Anne Round, who is Amy’s grandmother, joined the protest.

Mrs Poston, aged 29, said: “People are using Fleming Road as a cut-through to beat the queues.”

Mark Rickard, group leader of road safety at Walsall Council, said the road had been assessed but its accident record meant it did not qualify for traffic calming.