RECKLESS drivers using a busy road “like a racetrack” are leaving other motorists praying for their safety, according to a concerned resident.

Valerie Vincent, of Chaffinch Drive in Dovercourt, wants speed ramps to be installed in neighbouring Low Road to slow down drivers who are ignoring the 30mph limit.

Mrs Vincent, 71, says she and several other people who live in the area appeal for divine intervention when they drive into the road.

She said: “When I approach the junction I just pray – it has got as bad as that.

“People are coming up and down Low Road like it is a racetrack.

“When I pull up to the junction of Chaffinch Drive and Low Road it is a hell of a job to get out.

“Usually you pull out thinking it is clear and then two seconds later a car is right on top of you.

“The problems aren’t just at night – it is all of the time.”

Mrs Vincent believes there have been four serious accidents in the last three years, including one two weeks ago when a driver crashed into a bollard in the middle of the road and spun back into the kerb.

She is also planning to start a petition to lobby Essex Highways to install speed ramps and flashing 30mph signs, in addition to the chicane which is currently in place. S

County councillor for the area Ivan Henderson said he would be requesting a survey on the road from the Tendring Local Highways Panel to see if traffic-calming measures could be introduced.