Mum and children are left stranded after road works cut off their home....
Linda McCoy of Aspinall Crescent in Great Altcar, now has to drive 28 miles if she wants to drop her children off at school in Formby
A mum has described how she and her children have been left stranded after road works cut off her home.
Linda McCoy, 42, of Aspinall Crescent in Great Altcar, now has to drive 28 miles if she wants to drop her children off at school in Formby - a four mile round trip which previously took just five minutes.
Two of Linda’s eight children have a life threatening heart condition and she is now worried that emergency services could face a fatal delay if they were called out to her home.
Lancashire County Council have told residents they face five weeks of disruption as workmen carry out repairs to a the bridge on Lord Sefton Way, but Linda said that most villagers expect the work to over run.
She said: “I am disgusted that the council are carrying out this work in winter.
“Why could they not have done it in the summer when the schools are off? Usually it takes me five minutes in the car to Formby and it’s only a couple of miles - now I’m having to do 28 miles and it’s taking me an hour.
“I feel very isolated and it’s been hell to be honest. I’m now driving almost 100 miles a day whereas before I was doing 30 miles so its costing me a huge amount in petrol.”
I am getting stressed and with no public transport we feel totally cut off.
Other drivers trying to reach Great Altcar have complained that diversion signs are not clear enough.
David Hurford, principal bridge engineer for Lancashire County Council, said: “We’re carrying out vital work to replace the bridge which carries the brook under Lord Sefton Way near Clayton Farm.
"We’re sorry for the inconvenience while the road is closed but the bridge was in a very poor condition and in real need of replacement.
“We gave advance notice of the works by letter to 60 residents who live within half a mile, and a sign which was put up a week before work began.
“We also consulted extensively with the Parish Council and local businesses, including farms, which resulted in the work being scheduled during November after the harvest and tourism high-season.
"The signed diversion is around 12 miles long and is the shortest we can provide which is suitable for all traffic including HGVs, though many residents will use other local roads. We’ve put out extra signs to help people stay on route rather than just at junctions.”
