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Garden wall destroyed twice in seven months

George Carden
BBC News, North Bersted
George Carden/BBC Karen Vilday, left, Sue and Des Mills standing in Karen's back garden where the wall has been destroyed by a crashed car. The bricks are scattered on the floor and blue plastic fencing has been put up on the pavement next to the road which is a metre away. Wooden fencing has also been destroyed. All three are wearing winter jackets and looking at the camera. George Carden/BBC
Karen Vilday, left, and her neighbours Sue and Des Mills want extra safety measures installed on the road next to their houses after two cars crashed into their garden wall in seven months

A resident whose garden wall has been "smashed to pieces" by drivers twice in seven months is calling for extra safety measures on the road.

Karen Vilday, who lives in North Bersted, Bognor Regis, says she fears for the safety of pedestrians walking alongside the B2259 Chichester Road, which has a 30mph speed limit.

Mrs Vilday and her neighbour's garden walls were destroyed in a crash on 30 January. The same section of wall and her garden shed were also destroyed in June last year.

West Sussex County Council says it will investigate the recent incident and see if there are any safety measures that can be installed.

George Carden/BBC Bricks still scattered on the floor following the incident on 30 January. One of the car's wheels and part of its bumper are still lodged among the debris. A blue plastic fence is set up on the left to cordon off the debris from the road and part of a wooden shed is also damaged. George Carden/BBC
Part of the brick wall next to the road has been destroyed and the car's wheel and part of its bumper remain at the scene

Mrs Vilday told BBC Radio Sussex: "There's been about eight or nine accidents in the space of a quarter of a mile here.

"My main concern is for the safety of the pedestrians and the fact my children walk to the garage to get sweets. I make them take the longer way around now.

"When it happened in June last year, my shed also got hit," she said.

"If my children had been in the shed playing darts as they like to do, goodness only knows what could have happened to them."

Karen Vilday Crumbled bricks on the floor on the same section of wall from 1 June last year. Police tape is stretching across between the two sections of wall which are still standing. The garden shed is also damaged with one of the walls caved in. Behind there is a large white house which is next to Mrs Vilday's house. The skies are blue and clear Karen Vilday
The wall was previously destroyed on 1 June last year by another crash which also damaged Mrs Vilday's garden shed

Mrs Vilday's neighbour, Sue Mills, who has lived next door for 30 years, said: "We've been amazed at how many times cars have missed our wall but this time it didn't.

"We have seen this wall get rebuilt on a fair few occasions."

The residents say they want traffic calming measures such as speed bumps or reflective chevrons warning people of the slight bend in the road.

A West Sussex County Council spokesperson said: "We are aware there has been a recent incident at the Newbarn Lane junction with Chichester Road in Bognor Regis which has regrettably resulted in damage to a garden wall.

"We will investigate the cause and consider if there are any appropriate highway measures that can be installed there."

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