RESIDENTS near Bradshaw Road are demanding action amid claims a footpath is so overgrown that people are being forced to walk in a busy road.

Dinah Hill, of Old Water Fold, claims the access road — which she says is effectively a “mini motorway”

— has been neglected with blocked gulleys leading to flooding and street lights which do not work.

Mrs Hill, aged 68, said: “It’s probably the busiest A road in the borough. It is very fast and has only a single pavement.

“The footpath has been neglected for 10 or 15 years at least and the grass growing outwards across the pavement is forcing people to walk in the road.

“There is a metal barrier to protect pedestrians near the India Gate restaurant but this has been choked with weeds and blocked for months.”

Mrs Hill also said she reported problems with gulleys on the road in July claiming nine of them are blocked.

She said she has also reported street lights being broken in Bradshaw Road but the council claims they could have been damaged by someone shooting them with an air rifle.

Cllr Stuart Haslam, who represents Bradshaw, said: “Joggers and people pushing prams can’t get through so they’re trying to walk around the barrier and in the road.

“With some of the lights being out and with cars travelling at 50mph it’s asking for trouble.

“It’s very surprising that there’s not been a serious accident.”

A council spokesman said the authority had received a report of blocked gulleys but staff had not been able to investigate due to a backlog of work caused by the wet weather.

She said: “Unfortunately there does appear to be a problem on this road with street lights being shot out with an air gun and we had a report on November 26 of four street lights that were not working.

“All those repairs have now been done with the exception of one column which has a supply fault, which we will locate and then fix.”

She said work will start on Monday to clear the overgrown footpath.