Resident frustration as drivers ignore flooded road closure in Crookham Hill, Thatcham

Residents of a flooded road in Thatcham have expressed their discontent with motorists flouting road rules.

Crookham Hill has been closed in both directions, by West Berkshire Council, since January 5 due to flooding.

At the moment, the road is expected to remain closed until January 24.

The road is still shut between Thatcham Level Crossing and Burys Bank Road.

But motorists have been moving barriers and signs out of the way and using the road anyway.

Residents – whose homes have suffered the effects of recent flooding – say road use has worsened the situation.

As vehicles travel on the closed stretch, they push water into driveways and homes.

Resident Ben Urbanowicz lives in Crookham Hill with his newborn baby and said drivers have been ignoring the closure signs, moving the barriers and shouting at residents when told to follow the rules.

Another resident, Don Robinson – who has lived in Crookham Hill for 25 years – said the situation can make you “lose a little faith in humanity”.

“When the police were there, nobody would drive through,” he said.

“But as soon as police left they [motorists] just moved the signs.

“People don’t care and they shout abuse.”

Mr Robinson, who lives with his wife, said: “Our house is not flooded but I had four pumps in the garden, running all the time, and had sandbags.

“It has been stressful.

“The property [in the middle of the closed road] was getting flooded by the inconsiderate drivers ignoring the road closed sign and just driving through.

“Our next door neighbour Ben has a brand new baby.

“Fire and rescue have come out to assist which was nice.

“But they can only do so much to try to get the river water around their house.”

Ward councillor Owen Jeffery has also been making visits to the site – his first being around 24 hours after flooding began.

He says he has been speaking with residents, motorists and district council officers in a bid to mitigate further damage.

“There has been a very strange apparent disregard for the laws of the land,” he said.

“They [signs] were being thrown into the bushes, people were driving, or partly driving, over the grass.

“The ‘I must get through’ behaviour was causing the wash from their vehicles to go into the foundations of the three properties, one of them having flooded.”

Mr Jeffery has been standing on either end of the road informing motorists of the closure and says he has received a mixed bag of responses.

“They have varied from extremely courteous, polite and apologetic through to extremely aggressive,” he said.

“We were verging on threats of violence on one or two occasions.

“I found that pretty upsetting, not very British and not very Thatcham.”

Deputy mayor of Thatcham Suzanne Adamantos is looking to raise the issue in the next Thatcham Town Council full council meeting.

She said: “I am shocked, I am absolutely shocked.

“I can’t believe that people would blatantly disobey the law but also put their own lives in danger and the safety of other people in these houses.”

All council meetings are uploaded to Thatcham Town Council’s YouTube channel.

The next scheduled full council meeting is on January 29 (Monday) at the council offices in Brownfield Road.