Protesters gathered outside an East London town hall to oppose plans for a cycle scheme five years ago this week.

Hundreds demonstrated outside the Town Hall in Walthamstow to oppose the Mini Holland cycle scheme.

Some 300 people gathered to protest against the controversial project, which has seen parts of Walthamstow and Leyton closed off to traffic.

Waltham Forest council is now holding a series of workshops as it prepares to expand the scheme into Chingford.

One of the protesters, Walthamstow resident Kim Roberts, said: “A lot of people are furious since the scheme has been rolled out.

“Drivers do not know where they are going - you even have emergency vehicles going down dead-end roads because they do not know the route.

“It is not fair on people, we all have to go out of our way now to get to the same point.

“If the council do not listen to what people are saying, there will just be another protest like this and there will be a lot more people here too.”

The Mini Holland scheme was launched in 2014, when Waltham Forest council was awarded £27 million by Transport for London to make the borough more cycle friendly.

However, the project has come under criticism, due to road closures, a perceived increase in emergency service response times and a concern for businesses that rely on access to cars.

Campaign group, We Support Mini Holland in Waltham Forest, which has around 600 members, said consultations showed a “clear majority” of residents were in favour of the scheme.

A spokesman for the group said: “We urge our councillors to remember the results of the extensive consultations they have undertaken.

"As our population booms, we desperately need more journeys made on foot and by bicycle to help ease congestion and reduce pollution.

“We want the streets we live on to be quieter, safer places where we and our families can walk and cycle with less fear of motor traffic.”