Inside the 'leafy' Midlands street where residents fear their home could be the next victim

Calls have been made to tackle speeding on a 'leafy' residential street which residents say is a 'fatality waiting to happen'. Motorists can reach speeds of up to '70mph' on Mount Road in the leafy Penn area of Wolverhampton, it is claimed.

The tree-lined street has a 30mph speed limit and winds its way through a quiet corner of the city. But that's not stopping drivers from putting their foot down, with the road having a number of bends and 'dips' that can hide oncoming traffic, residents say.

It comes after two cars collided along the street earlier this month, leaving one man with serious injuries and a homeowner's 'historic' garden wall crumbled to pieces, with a road sign and pieces of brick 'thrown' into her garden. Cllr Paul Singh said he'd like to see a 20mph speed limit implemented - as the city council claimed it's 'latest review' found there had been 'no accidents' resulting in personal injury in the past three years.

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The resident whose home was destroyed after the crash was 87-year-old Chris, who's been left with a £1,578.44 repair bill following the smash at the corner of Mount Road and Muchall Road. Chris said her street was lit up "like a circus" after the crash happened at around 11.35pm on Sunday, November 10.

"It's (been) an accident waiting to happen," said Chris. "Since I have lived down here, they come down at 60mph, 70mph. It's straight, a bend, then straight.

"Trying to get out here is a nightmare; you must nudge out a little bit and look right and left. By the time you turn out, someone is up your backside."

Chris claimed debris from the crash - including a crumbled Mount Road sign - had been thrown into her front garden. A street lamp has also been left slanted. "My garden is full of rubbish, no one will speak to me," she said. Her 'historic' garden wall was once part of the old 'Muchall estate' that existed on Mount Road, explained Chris.

Another resident, Navin Foolchand, aged 75, of Mount Road, said: "I have lived down this road for 30-odd years. For the past 10 years, they've been using it as a racetrack." Describing the shape of the road, Mr Foolchand said: "It snakes, it dips from here to there."

Mr Foolchand said it was "only a matter of time" that someone "will be killed" if action wasn't taken. He said: "It's frightening. There are school kids and people walking their dogs along here, and it's quite a busy area.

"People think it's ok to speed. I struggle to reverse out of my drive. It's a matter of time. It is when, not if."

Mary Jarrett, aged 88, who has lived on Mount Road for more than 60 years, said: "I live at the top of the road, it was wonderful walking up here in the old days, going up to the common.

"They tend to go very quickly. Sometimes you can't see them. I drive less and less nowadays because of problems getting out of the house."

Penn Cllr Paul Singh, who highlighted the residents' concerns, said the lamppost outside Chris' house could end up 'falling over' after it was left slanted following the crash, adding: "It's a safety concern." He continued: "It is shocking to hear what residents experience.

"I would like to see Wolverhampton council do a consultation to look at the speeding, (either) with speed calming measures or signage. There are more cars on the road than 10, 20, 30 years ago.

"We have some roads outside schools now that are 20mph. Slowing down from 30mph to 20mph isn't drastic for drivers. I think it would give a lot of assurance to people."

Police, ambulance and fire crews attended the scene of the crash which took place on November 10, with paramedics first called at 11.35pm before police and firefighters were alerted. Two cars had been involved in the collision, with two people freeing themselves from one car and one person freeing themselves from another car before firefighters arrived.

One man - one of the drivers - suffered serious injuries before being taken to New Cross Hospital. Another man who was a passenger suffered minor injuries and was also taken to New Cross Hospital.

West Midlands Fire Service said the collision had also caused "damage to a garden wall and street lighting". West Midlands Police said it had spoken to both drivers following crash and appealed for anyone with information to contact the force, quoting log 4239 of November 10.

A spokesperson for the force added: "We understand people's concerns around careless and dangerous driving around the West Midlands and our new Roads Policing Unit is dedicated to reducing the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on our roads. We'd also encourage people to submit dash or helmet cam footage of careless or dangerous driving to submit footage to us by searching 'WMP Op Snap'."

In response to the concerns about speeding, a City of Wolverhampton Council spokesperson said: "We constantly monitor where road safety measures may need to be implemented across the transport network in Wolverhampton. Any works are financed from the Transportation Capital Works Programme, and we have to prioritise spending where data tells us the need for traffic measures is greatest.

"The latest review of Mount Road shows there have been no road traffic collisions resulting in personal injury there in the last three years and speeds are on average below the 30mph speed limit. We take all concerns seriously and will continue to monitor the situation to consider if further interventions are needed in the future."