Menace of heavy lorries in town centre street

They say the road is too narrow to cope with large lorries and are asking county road bosses to take action.

Ray Vallance, 69, who lives at the danger spot - Ginhams Road in West Green, Crawley - says cars left parked on one side of the road exacerbate the problem.

“Lorries are always ripping up the verge,” he said, “but today one has taken out about six inches of verge for the whole length of the road - about 400 metres.

“It’s heartbreaking to see it churned up like that.”

He said that dustcarts just about managed to squeeze along the road “but it gets very tight.”

A spokesman for West Sussex County Council - which is responsible for roads in Crawley - said: “Driving over or parking on a grass verge is a widespread issue across the county.

“Often this damages verges, which not only spoils the appearance of the street, but costs unnecessary expense to repair.

“We will monitor the situation and if the damage is severe we will take action to repair it.”