A COUPLE with three children are calling for traffic calming and safety barriers outside their house after THREE vehicles have crashed into their home in THREE years. Two night-time crashes landed in the garden pond, another in daylight saw a mini-bus fu

A COUPLE with three children are calling for traffic calming and safety barriers outside their house after THREE vehicles have crashed into their home in THREE years.

Two night-time crashes landed in the garden pond, another in daylight saw a mini-bus full of migrant workers stop inches from the house - and the couple's bedroom.

Jos Shorter, 46, from Ramsey St Mary's, said after the second accident she had to have medication and counselling, was unable to sleep and began to stutter.

"I couldn't get it out of my mind. I had this nightmare that someone would be bleeding to death and there would be nothing I could do about it."

The family house in Fisher Close, off Ugg Mere Court Road, also has a gas main in the garden, only feet away from where the cars have crashed.

The house sits at a t-junction with the B1040 St Mary's Road where Tom Jones, 17, died in a hit and run incident in April 2005. The Shorters said drivers may not realise they are approaching a junction, which they believe is poorly signed and poorly lit.

Craig Shorter, a plumber, said: "I think in the past drivers merely got cuts and bruises and might not have reported these accidents to the police, but one day there could be school children on the road outside the house or people in our garden.

"After the first crash neighbours said to us they had wondered how long it would be before it happened. We need crash barriers there or rumble strips."

The latest crash was at 1.45am on Friday. Mrs Shorter, a caterer, said: "I had been working late and I had just nodded off in front of the television. I heard my daughter shout 'Oh my God someone's had an accident - they are calling for help in our pond'."

Mrs Shorter said they had moved to the house from Hertfordshire to be nearer family without realising how busy the road was.

"The first (minibus) accident was in April 2004. The second was in September last year when a drink driver ended up on the edge of the pond. There was a terrific bang. His car was stuck and he tried to reverse out but the car was hanging over the pond."

She added: "I live in fear of my life - and other people's lives. Children play in this garden, my sister is a foster carer - and I also hope one day to have some grandchildren. How can I let them play in the garden?

"As you can see from the minibus incident, it's not just during the night time that it happens."

Ramsey town councillor Ray Powell told The Hunts Post that Cambridgeshire County Council had promised traffic calming for Ugg Mere Court Road at a meeting in 2003.

"They promised that the problem would be resolved within two years. It has now been four years and nothing has been done.

"I have put in three petitions calling for sensible traffic calming in Ramsey, one for the Forty Foot, one for Oilmills Road and one for Ramsey Heights, which includes Uggmere Court Road. Promises have been made and reneged on."

A council spokesman said: "We will investigate whether the signage is clear enough. Nothing we can do will stop drunk drivers. We understand the concern of residents. The best way forward is for Ramsey Town Council to apply to us for a jointly funded minor improvements scheme."

The Ramsey Foot Foot petition is to be discussed by the Huntingdonshire traffic committee of Cambridgeshire County Council on Monday.

# A 42-year-old Ramsey man has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving and will appear at Huntingdon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, September 5.