Part of the controversial scheme to open the hard shoulder of the M6 during peak times has been axed amid a series of government cuts.

Hard shoulder running, designed to reduce congestion on the busiest stretch of motorway in England, will no longer go ahead between junctions five for Castle Bromwich and eight for the M5.

Roadworks are currently taking place for the second phase of the scheme between junctions eight and 10a for the M54, and will not be hit by the £6.2 billion worth of UK cuts.

The work has been a major headache for residents living near the carriageway in Beechdale and Short Heath, where overnight works has kept them awake around the clock and even forced Highways Agency chiefs to pay for hotel accommodation for those affected.

The project will be complete by 2012.The £202 million planned work further south on the motorway was cancelled as part of a £683 million decrease in spending on transport overall.

But officials at the Department for Transport say the project could go ahead between junctions 5 and 8 in future years.

Chancellor George Osborne, explained the thinking behind the cuts.“Already we are paying out more on debt interest that we spend on defence, on transport or on the police,” he said.

“If we don’t take action, we will soon be spending more on servicing our debts than on educating our children.”

Last year, residents near Black Country stretches of the M6 told of their fury when dozens of trees shielding their homes were hacked down to make way for emergency laybys to be created.Trees measuring less than four feet were planted in their place, prompting more anger.

Families living on the estate, in particular those in Murdock Way and Crompton Close, have suffered a series of noisy overnight jobs since the Managed Motorway scheme began.

The latest sleepless night for residents came last week as a central reservation barrier was repaired after a crash.