A family have had an eighth car written off since they started living on a busy main road in Newport. The Griffiths family, who live at Chepstow Road in the city close to the Man of Gwent pub, lost an eighth car to a crash on Tuesday evening, May 9.
It comes weeks after the police, local councillors, MS John Griffiths and MP Jessica Morden met with residents on the street in March after another collision which left another two cars written off on the stretch of road close to the M4 Coldra junction. The string of collisions on the street has now led to 20 cars being totalled, leaving locals furious.
The full circumstances of all the crashes, including the latest one, are not known, including whether speed was a factor, but homeowners believe speed mitigation methods should be put in place, such as rumble strips on the road. “They are waiting for someone to die before they do anything about it,” Andrew Griffiths said after the 20th incident on Tuesday, May 9, which saw his daughter’s Ford Fiesta wrecked weeks after he lost his car after someone hit it in the early hours while it was parked outside his home. You can get more Newport news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Read more: Primary school issues warning as pupil has 'cardiac episode' after drinking Prime energy drink
“After the meeting in March they said they couldn’t put any rumble strips or anything like that in and they were looking at more speed awareness programmes instead. One of the councillors came again last night but I didn’t speak to her. Why is it still happening? Why does it keep happening to us and our neighbours? Yesterday another car was written off and another damaged. There are a whole manner of reasons why they seem to happen. We’ve had people fall asleep at the wheel, people not concentrating, all sorts.
“As soon as something more serious happens, something will get done. It’s unbelievable. This time it’s my daughter’s car - a Fiesta. She started working and saved money to buy it. It was her first car. She’s had it about a year and she’s still learning to drive in it. It was immaculate, she really looked after it.”
Recalling the latest incident, Andrew explained: “I heard a bang but it wasn’t as loud as the others have been so I immediately opened the door and looked down the road. But then I saw it was us again, right out the front. My wife gets really stressed over it. I just feel angry. We’ve got new neighbours who have moved in in the last month just after the last crash and this car has gone into them as well.”
Since Andrew’s neighbour, James Crowley, moved onto the road he has had ten cars written off, while his neighbour on the other side Gerald Carter, who is 89, has had two cars written off in the last six years - one of which almost ended up in his lounge.
After James' car was written off following a crash in March, he said: “It appears they drive from the Coldra, which is approximately a mile away. If there’s nothing at the Coldra then usually the first cars you’ll see parked on the side of the road are ours. More and more so I am worrying about someone being hit rather than a car.
“We get no compensation whatsoever. My insurance has gone up and I’ve lost a lot of money. On average every time we get a new car we then lose around £3,000 every time there is an accident.”
A spokeswoman for Gwent Police said: “We had a report of a road traffic collision on Chepstow Road in Newport at about 6.35pm yesterday evening. It involved a van and two cars. The two cars were parked on the roadside at the time. No-one was injured. The van driver did initially stop at the scene, the van was left at the scene, and officers are now making enquiries to trace the driver.” In 2020 Inspector Martin Cawley, for Gwent Police, said the force “is continuing to monitor the situation and will take steps to resolve any issues”.
A spokeswoman for Newport council said: "The council has received a report of problems along a particular stretch of Chepstow Road. Chepstow Road serves as a strategic road, and in previous years has had road safety works in the form of reduced lane widths and other recognised treatments. We are not considering any additional traffic calming measures at this time, but we have offered to facilitate the consideration of a community speed watch scheme with partners for residents. It should also be noted that Chepstow Road will be defaulted to 20mph under the new default national speed limit which is coming into force in Wales from 17 September 2023. Further information on which streets in Newport will be defaulted to 20mph can be found on our website. https://www.newport.gov.uk/en/Transport-Streets/20mph-streets/20mph-streets.aspx."
READ NEXT:
Police appeal for information after man's leg broken in alleged assault in Cardiff
The horrific true story of teenager Angel Lynn who fell from her kidnapper's moving van
Mum was unable to say goodbye to son killed while changing tyre
Hitman who shot dead underworld leader known as Mr Big is stabbed in prison
