Badly parked cars, speeding drivers and a lack of pedestrian crossings are just some of the issues residents living along a busy town road say desperately need to be addressed.

The A258 London Road in Deal is a main route leading to the town centre and the beach making it one of the most congested – with claims some treat it ‘like a race track’.

Neighbours who live close by say the sheer volume of traffic coupled by cars parking too close to junctions means there are often accidents, particularly close to Claremont Road.

Data shows in the last five years, 15 incidents have been reported along the stretch.

Narrow pavements and a lack of safe crossing points also make it difficult for those navigating the route by foot.

In a bid to see change, some residents have written to Deal Town Council (DTC) calling for the road to be assessed to see if anything can be done to make it safer.

And in response, traffic calming measures will now be considered.

Speaking to KentOnline, Sandra Hall, who has lived on the street for 40 years, says crossing the road is a real problem for pedestrians.

She said: “More crossing points would be useful because if you want to get across safely with grandchildren, you have to up to the hospital or to the fire station.

“There is so much more housing now; we have lived here 40 years and have noticed a difference in the amount of traffic.

“The pavements are extremely narrow at some points which is difficult for mums with prams.”

Mabel LeClerc who has lived on London Road for three years says the main issue for her is poor parking.

“I haven't noticed lots of crashes but getting out of my drive can take ages,” explained the 71-year-old.

“People park right in front of our house and trying to get out while keeping the pavement clear for pedestrians is a challenge.

“It is such a busy road but they allow so much parking on it that it all gets snarled up.

“It's a main road so obviously there is going to be lot of traffic, but it's more the parking that is an issue for me.“

But Ray Prior, like many of his neighbours, says he has become used to the volume of traffic and “doesn't notice it anymore”.

The 83-year-old said: “About a week ago a car pulled out of Claremont Road onto London Road and was hit.

“It's not just the road that's a problem, but also the standard of driving.

“There is more traffic on the roads than there used to be so it's bound to happen.”

Now that concerns have been raised to DTC, an inspection of the road is due to take place.

Fifty-nine-year-old David Mottershead said traffic calming measures are something he would support.

“The house is set back so in terms of noise it's not so bad, it's more the speed right through the day,” he explained.

“There are a number of drivers who drive way too fast, I’d say about one in 10 do more than 50mph even though it's a 30mph road.

“I think traffic calming measures would be good because it forces cars to go down to 30mph.

“Visibility coming onto London Road is hard and if someone is going along at 50mph you would be lucky not to be hit.”

Grandmother Lesley Johnson says she struggles as a pedestrian when she is walking into town with her grandson.

The 66-year-old said: “It’s busy, noisy and fast and it's difficult to cross the road and even more difficult with a pushchair.

“When I'm with my grandson, we have to walk all the way down to the first station to cross.

“Some park on the pavement to stop off deliveries so you can't get past.

“It’s busy both ways so you can be standing there for ages trying to cross the road.

“I would like to see more crossing points and maybe speed bumps.”

She also echoed concern about the junction with Claremont Avenue saying there have been “a few bumps” in recent years.

“Coming out of Claremont is difficult because some cars park right up to the junction so it's a horrible road to get out of”, she added.

Data from CrashMap.co.uk, which records incidents across the UK’s roads, shows over the past five years, there have been 15 crashes on London Road between Middle Deal Road and Queen Street.

Eleven were deemed slight while four were recorded as serious during this period.

However, some neighbours dispute the accuracy of the figures as they believe there have been more that have not been recorded.

Kenneth Fidler, 78, says the road is particularly bad in the morning rush hour and some drivers treat it “like a race track”.

“There are buses going to various schools each morning and children are trying to cross the road and people are also trying to get to work,” he said.

“There are drivers who are impatient and trying to get past while there are children crossing.

“There are not many gaps in the traffic but thankfully a lot of the children have a good road sense.

“In between school time, it's the elderly people and those in wheelchairs who have issues.

“I would like to see the speed limit brought down maximum 20mph.”

After discussing the issues with the road at a meeting, the transport and infrastructure committee clerk at Deal Town Council, Laura Marney, said: "A number of traffic concerns were brought to the committee's attention regarding London Road and several roads that lead on to it.

"A site visit is now planned which will report back to council and we will be contacting Kent County Council (KCC) to make sure they are aware of the issues raised and to see what is being done to make the area safer.

"DTC will now consider traffic calming measures on London Road when we submit our next Highways Improvement Plan."

Middle Deal Ward Cllr and London Road resident Trevor Bond said a review of the road is something he would support.

He added: “My main concerns are the crossing points.

“A few years ago I tried to get a safe crossing by the service station but KCC said there wasn't a need for one.

“I would be happy to look into that again because I put a petition together at the time because residents wanted it.

“It would be good to have a review of the road so the experts can give some ideas about how it can be addressed.

“There have been a few accidents near St Leonard’s Road, Park Avenue, Bowling Green Lane and near Grange Road, but that doesn't mean speed is always a factor.”

A KCC spokesperson said: “We are committed to working with communities to respond to concerns raised about the safety of our road network.

“This includes continuing to work constructively with Deal Town Council to discuss and design solutions to any issues within its Highway Improvement Plan.

“Crash Map is an externally hosted website that relies on data from the Department for Transport, which is issued every summer for the previous year, meaning there can be a lag between a collision being reported and it appearing on the system.

“We encourage road users to continue to report personal injury collisions to Kent Police, to ensure this information is captured.”