Residents in a quiet road are enduring a traffic “nightmare” thanks to heavy roadworks.

At the end of January a speed limit was put in place on a section of Hainault Road in Chigwell running just shy of a kilometre.

The Essex County Council stabilising works are due to continue for 547 days, finishing on July 16, 2020.

To add to the area’s roadworks problems the bottom of Hainault Road by the parish council offices was closed last Saturday by Thames Water, with numerous nearby lanes also on temporary 20mph limits.

As a result, cars started taking diversions into Station Road.

Sue Cole said: “We have been having a nightmare with cars driving down onto the pavements.

“We have tried putting bollards outside our houses to stop lorries, cars and buses mounting the pavement outside our homes, but all that happens is they either get driven over or thrown away.

“On Monday as I was leaving my house with my three-year-old grandson I was nearly pinned to the wall as a car undertook so he didn’t have to wait for the bus coming in other direction.”

“The road is much to small to take this much traffic.”

An Essex Highways spokesperson said: “This road closure was done as an emergency by Thames Water to repair a main.

“Their initial diversion of traffic down Station Road was wrong and we advised them accordingly. Unfortunately, it seems that they did not respond particularly quickly to alter the diversion following our advice.”