COLCHESER Council bosses have been urged to pay up to fix a crumbling road which residents say has been wrecked by bin lorries.

Colchester Council bosses say there is no evidence that the heavy refuse trucks have caused the damage to the tarmac in Thelsford Walk.

But people living nearby insist there is no other explanation for the disruptive damage, which is causing major problems for them.

Greenstead councillor Tim Young is backing residents who have asking the authority to take responsibility for years.

He said: “I have been making the case that this damage can only have been caused by the council’s refuse freighters.

“No other heavy vehicles use it and the council has admitted that the freighters do use that road.

“In no way am I blaming the refuse collectors, who do a great job, but there is no doubt that these heavy vehicles have caused this damage.

“The council, and their insurers, have tried to excuse their liability, but I have asked them to consider a without prejudice payment or a goodwill gesture to repair the road.

“I worked for an insurance company for 20 years so I know how hard it is to squeeze money or liability out of them.”

Mr Young said it was an opportunity for the council to do the right thing.

“The council can’t argue that they aren’t responsible for the land because they mow the grass and maintain the verges and they have repaired the adjacent pavement in the recent past,” he said.

“This is an opportunity for the council to demonstrate that they are reasonable and will listen to the genuine concerns of local residents.”

A spokesman for the council said it could not justify paying for the repairs because it did not believe its lorries were responsible for the damage.

He said: “We are fully aware of the issue and do sympathise with the residents of Thelsford Walk.

“However, as there is currently no evidence the initial damage to the road was caused by any actions of Colchester Council, it would be wrong for us to use council taxpayers’ money to repair a private road in this way.

“Our insurers have already contacted residents to inform them of this and we will continue to do all we can to ensure our vehicles do not damage roads or footways.”