Homeowner pays £8,000 for speedbumps in failed bid to slow down drivers on his road

A fed-up homeowner spent thousands of pounds installing speed bumps on his road in a failed bid to deter reckless motorists.

Adrian Kent, 65, took drastic action after fearing for the safety of his grandchildren when playing outside his home in Whitstable, Kent.

He and his neighbour paid £8,000 for tarmac and speed bumps to be laid on the private dirt road, which homeowners are responsible for maintaining, rather than the local authority.

But the DIY ramps failed to stop motorists from hurtling through the 5mph zone at speeds of up to 40mph.

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The final straw came when a cement mixer hit one of the bumps and spilt its load all over the street, leaving Kent with a two-hour cleaning operation.

He said: "People were happy to tear down it at 30 to 40mph.

"A neighbour's car window was smashed by stones flicking up and some of the stones are quite big.

"We've even had a car transporter through here. We moved here in 2018 and by 2019 we thought we would try to do something about it.

"I thought if we were to repair it we would do a permanent surface so we decided to put the bumps down.

"We spoke with the neighbours and they agreed but they weren't interested in paying."

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Some residents joked about the speedbumps, with one on Facebook posting: "Is the shortest road in the country with speed bumps?"

Another resident jumped to Kent's defence and praised him for taking action.

She added: "The road was often used as a cut-through and was becoming more dangerous by the day.

"I can only thank the homeowners for making this safer for the children and other pedestrians at their own expense."

Despite the cost of the deterrents racking up, Kent thought the way some locals responded was amusing.

He said: "It's quite funny when you think about it.

"Maybe I could enter the Guinness Book of Records."

Kent has now blocked off part of the road with planters, and for the past 18 months Kent County Council Highways, the fire service and police have raised no objections.

The planters have been a success, with the grandfather adding: "It's lovely and quiet now, but the amount of traffic coming down here was quite something before.”