A NOTORIOUS accident blackspot on a busy road will be left as it is until someone is seriously injured, residents have been told.

People living in Fiddlers Hamlet, near Epping, have witnessed dozens of accidents on a treacherous bend in the road and are calling for the county council to warn motorists of the dangers.

But resident and campaigner Simon Levy, 53, said he had been told the council would not take any action unless six or more people had been injured on a small section of a road within five years.

“They said they're waiting for someone to get hurt,” he added. “I know last summer, they had to cut someone out of their car and close the road. They just don't care.

“They're not bothering to impose speed limits or anything.”

He added that he knew of at least 10 accidents on the same patch of road since he moved there four years ago.

The county council's western area highways manager, Andrew Ruffell, said in his letter to Mr Levy: "There needs to be a pattern of accidents occurring to be able to determine suitable measures."

He added that he was waiting for the latest accident figures and the result of a county-wide speed limit review before he could consider introducing a new limit or traffic calming on the road.

Jane Bird, 73, whose home on the dangerous corner is usually the first port of call after accidents, said: “Even if they just put huge 'slow' signs up, it would be something.

“It's built up around this bend. It should be 40 mph at most.”

Last month, the Guardian reported how the county council is planning to install traffic calming measures on two quiet roads in Epping, in preparation for the new St John's School building – even though this is likely to be years away.

Mrs Bird said it seemed “ridiculous” for the council to work on the quieter Lower Bury Lane and Bury Road in Epping when so many accidents had happened on her road over the years.