FRUSTRATED residents fear construction lorries coating their road with mud are making the surface dangerous and will eventually damage the road.

Residents in Oak Road, Halstead, say the problems began around six weeks ago when the original entrance used by Bloor Homes was closed to building traffic due to the opening of some show homes.

Since then they say they have been using another entrance, previously only used by David Wilson developers.

Residents claim the road has been coated in mud and the number of lorries has soared.

Julie Reddin said: “We’ve got lorries constantly going up and down. “It’s been since they closed the entrance on the main road because they have the show homes opening up. I went over there and was told that it’s not going to be re-opened.”

The residents fear the development could take up to another two years to complete.

Mrs Reddin said: “Our issue is not with the homes being built – we know they have to go somewhere.

Our issue is with how it’s being done and the lack of respect which is being shown to people who already live here.”

Bloor is building 183 homes next to where David Wilson is building another 100 houses.

The residents say they have not had any issues with the other development.

A Bloor Homes spokesman said: “In order to maintain the cleanliness of the roads surrounding our Oakwood Hill development, we have tarmacked the roads and driveways on site to enable construction vehicles to leave the site without driving through the mud. In addition, we have mechanical sweepers available to sweep the site and adjoining estate roads.”

The company said road sweeps are carried out twice a week and more often if the site is busy.

The spokesman added: “Under the terms of the planning consent, construction access was always intended to come through Oak Road.

"However, in order to minimise disruption, permission was granted to use the entrance on Mount Hill before this was opened to the public.

“We always strive to maintain the cleanliness of the roads around our developments, and would encourage anyone who may have concerns about the condition of the roads to contact us directly on 01284 752295.”