Councillors are urging local people to back a campaign to stamp out nuisance drivers who treat local streets like a race track.

After talking with fed-up locals, town councillors have called a public meeting for Monday, October 1, at the Melville Theatre, where they hope residents will voice their concerns over boy racers blasting around town.

Councillors said the main issue lies within Park Crescent where young drivers can often be seen and heard driving dangerously and flouting the speed limit. ??One resident warned that it was only it was a matter of time before someone was killed.

Anna Roberts, who lives locally, said the issue has worsened to the point where only a concerted effort between councillors and local residents could address the problem.

“On Park Crescent we have groups of children walking to and from school and children on bicycles,” she said.

“Some cars speed down this road at speeds of up to 40 mile an hour. All it takes is for one child to step into the road, messing around, as we all did as children and the consequences would be too awful to contemplate. I’ve seen two near accidents on this street involving children.

It takes only 30 seconds longer to drive down that road at 20mph. We have to think and take stock of the awful consequences of hitting a child or an adult at speeds of up to 40mph. When you’re walking along that road, you often feel the rush of wind as a car passes by. Cars often don’t slow down even when you’re getting in and out of your car on the street—and that is scary.”

The campaign, which launches at the Melville Theatre at 7.15pm on Monday, October 1, hopes to drum up support from locals, and take those voices to Monmouthshire County Council.

Tudor Thomas, councillor for Priory Ward, said, “We are going to be looking at a range of issues, regarding speeding and anti-social driving. We have had many locals get in touch saying they’re sick to death of boy racers haring around the streets and keeping them awake at night. ?

?“We want to take those voices to MCC, and ask them to look at measures such as speed bumps, or a lower speed limit. ??

“Many locals have been in touch with me because they and their children are being kept awake at night. And I am really doing my best to sort this out. They are at their wit’s end.”

The meeting will involve Teslin Davies, Mayor of Abergavenny, who is also town councillor for Priory Ward.

“I live in Park Crescent and am constantly woken up by late night drivers racing up Park Crescent and around the local area,” she said. “If I’m woken up then I know for certain that others will be too.

“People tend to use Park Crescent as a race track when they’ve turned off Pen y Pound where there are speed bumps and are now able to accelerate up the street. We are monitoring the situation in conjunction with MCC and the police.”

Councillors said they want as many voices as possible to be heard at next week’s meeting, so a solution to the ongoing issue could be arranged as soon as possible with local police and government backing.

Councillor Martyn Groucutt, said the spectre of nuisance drivers speeding around residential streets could end in tragedy if something wasn’t done soon to sort it out. Park Crescent, where a lot of the trouble is centred, forms the tail-end of Councillor Groucutt’s Lansdown Ward.

“I am extremely worried that we have an accident waiting to happen,” he said. “The road is a walking route for children going to three schools and they need to be safe. The road is increasingly being used as a way of avoiding the traffic lights, with the new set outside Morrison’s adding to the congestion on the main road.

“However, driving at speed down a residential street to save a few seconds is not the answer. We need to cut speed and hopefully introduce some sort of traffic calming in Park Crescent, and the same is true for those adjacent streets that are in Priory Ward.

Through traffic needs to be discouraged and people trying to speed along residential streets must not be allowed to put others at risk.” ??The meeting will be held at 7.15pm on Monday, October 1, at the Melville Theatre Pen Y Pound.