A MAN whose garden wall required £6,000 repairs after it was destroyed by a crashed car fears council inaction means he will have to fix it again.

William Marsh lives on Colchester Road, Halstead, where the outside wall at the front of his property has been hit five times in the last ten years. In November, the wall was destroyed by a careless driver, with the cost of the repairs running to more than £6,000.

The price was paid by the insurance, however Mr Marsh feels it is only a matter of time before another hit and a potential fatality.

He said: “I have had my wall rebuilt and it looks very nice, but the problem is who knows how long it will be like that.

“When my builder was working to repair the wall he said he could not believe the speed that traffic is going along — he said he was actually frightened being out there.

“It just does not make any sense to me.

“The powers that be seem to be waiting until someone has died to do anything.

“We need some speed calming measures to put something in place so drivers slow down. I understand these things do not happen overnight but something needs to be done soon.”

Dave Gronland, Halstead Town Council’s representative on Braintree Council’s Local Highways Panel, has put together a case on behalf of residents. He said: “Without a doubt something needs to be done. It seems amazing to me that no one has been hurt along the road before.

“The proposals were unanimously supported by the town council and I think it needs to be looked at as soon as possible.

“Unfortunately the process is slow but I am confident it will get through to the next stage. It is not obvious what needs to be done, but at the very least some speed signs need to be installed.”

Essex County Council highways department has previously pledged to check speed signs were visible and directed residents to contact the Local Highways Panel with concerns.