Shocking CCTV footage has been released by an action group from a village near Burton showing huge lorries squeezing through their tiny main road. It comes as campaigners issued a plea to council bosses to introduce a weight limit on their street following years of problems caused by large lorries using Yoxall as a shortcut.

It comes as the village school says its children are too scared to go to school on their bikes and scooters because lorries mount the pavements.

The Yoxall Traffic Action Group (YTAG) says HGVs use the narrow A515 through Yoxall as a shortcut from the A38 to the A50 which, sat-navs show as being nine minutes quicker than if vehicles were to carry on along the A38 to the junction with the A50. The CCTV footage shows lorries mount pavements and block bends on the narrow road through the village as they navigate past each other.

Highways authority Staffordshire County Council has set up a freight forum bringing interested parties together for discussion on such matters. But it added that as the A515 was listed as a diversion route off the A38 this means introducing any weight limit would require talking with the Government too.

Yoxall lorries blocking roads and mounting pavements on A515
Yoxall lorries blocking roads and mounting pavements on A515

YTAG has said that while Kings Bromley and Draycott are all villages on the A515 which is the link road from the A50 to Lichfield, it is Yoxall which suffers the most from HGVs rumbling through.

A spokesman for YTAG told the Burton Mail: “The road that comes through is so narrow that lorries cannot get through without mounting the pavements. This is a big deal and very dangerous.

“The Fradley distribution centre was built on the side of the A38 because the trunk road past it provides easy access from the A38 to the A50 but the lorries come up the A515. Sat-navs are programmed to provide the shortest route, which is the A515, so any vehicles coming down the A50 from Stoke wouldn’t continue up the A50 to the A38. They will use the A515.

“The majority of the A515 is a straight road which appears to be a suitable route until you get to the village. The pavements and roads are narrow and you get 40-tonne lorries meeting at a pinch point and climbing pavements during school times and at night.”

The group claimed the council was unwilling to implement a 7.5-tonne weight limit on the road because it might discourage big businesses from setting up home in the area.

The spokesman said: “They don’t want to put a limit on because they are nervous about putting off big industry from coming to the area.

“The implication of not having a weight limit sets a dangerous precedent for other roads we feel.

If they have a weight limit put on the A515 it would stop lorries from coming in and blocking entire roads.

Lorries blocking roads on A515 through Yoxall
Lorries blocking roads on A515 through Yoxall

“We have heard from pedestrians that they have had to hold children back to the wall as the lorries mount the pavements.”

For the first time Yoxall Primary School has now spoken out on the issues, with acting head teacher Lisa Farmer saying she was horrified to hear stories from children and their parents calling their walks to and from school “treacherous”.

The action group spokesman added: “It speaks volumes that the primary school has now spoken out. The action group has asked the school to make a comment before but previous head teachers have been unwilling as the county council is their employer.

“Mrs Farmer is brave to speak out.”

Villagers have now installed CCTV in a bid to prove just how dangerous the situation is, claiming that a recent traffic count showed 36 lorries driving through the village between 6am and 9am alone.

The action group is now waiting for a freight forum meeting this month and is also waiting on decisions to be made based on the traffic count.

The council’s highways leader, Mark Deaville, said: “We are well aware of the concerns of residents living along the A515, particularly regarding HGVs. We have, for some time, been working with those communities and last year set up a freight forum, bringing together all parties for reasoned discussion. This week we are holding another meeting with local parish councils.

“We will do all we can to address these issues. While we would never rule anything out, people must understand that the A515 is a listed diversion route off the A38. The issues therefore cannot be resolved by the county council alone. Through the forum we will aim to make Staffordshire’s voice heard at Government level – directly and through our MPs.”

The letter from Yoxall Primary School to YTAG on the issues

'I am writing on behalf of the staff and children of Yoxall St Peter's Primary School here in the village of Yoxall.
I am writing about the desperate concerns we have concerning the lorries which pass our school each day. Our children, here, are the most precious things to us and their families and every week I hear stories directly from children and parents about how their walk to and from school is treacherous.
As they are walking along, lorries often mount the footpaths, pedestrians have to stop and hope for the best. Parents grip tightly to the hands of their children as they are scared to give them an inch of freedom in case a lorry comes along at speed.
The children have a lovely new scooter and bike shelter at school but are too scared to use their wheeled vehicles to travel to and from school as they are scared about the impact a wobble may have when a lorry drives past them, and this is on the pavement. Our oldest children can cycle safely on roads but do not dare in their own village because of the outrageous number and size of lorries each and every day.
Personally, I think this is a travesty and in the age where we are encouraging our young people to adopt a healthy lifestyle they feel trapped due to circumstances in their own community.
Some parents have reported driving to school as walking is too dangerous and some only live a few streets away from school. This again is a real issue. What is this telling our young people?
I am aware some villages not connected with our school are involved in conversations with yourselves and I would like to add my name to the list of concerned groups.
As a school we would like some reassurances that our children and families are able to walk to and from school safely without the dread of lorries each and every day.'

Lisa Farmer