A WHITCHURCH resident who was nearly mown down in a notorious local ?rat run? has claimed speeding motorists are putting lives at risk. Chris Allison had to jump out of the path of a racing motorist in Anderton Lane on Monday. She said: ?It was about 8.45am and the car came down under the bridge, on the wrong side of the road, going at least 60-70 miles an hour. ?I didn?t know a 67-year-old could jump that far!? For Mrs Allison and her partner Norman Gillard, the near-miss was an accident waiting to happen. Anderton Lane connects Whitchurch Road with the main Plymouth Road and is often used by motorists to avoid congestion on the outskirts of the town. Mr Gillard said: ?Nobody is controlling the speed of cars that come round down the lane. It?s a very fast, dangerous section of road. Dangerous drivers are putting lives at risk ? some of them are touching 90mph!? Mr Gillard, who reported the incident to the police, has been in regular contact about the potential dangers of the road with Devon County Council traffic division since August, who have promised an investigation into the road. Adam Keays, senior traffic technician for Devon South, said: ?We get many complaints and we take Mr Gillard?s one seriously. ?The county council has a process to investigate complaints of speeding and we will be asking the police to monitor traffic speeds along the road, as well as looking at the history of past incidents. We?re only really just beginning the investigation.? Tavistock police were unfortunately unable to identify the vehicle in Monday?s incident but added that they had very few reports of incidents on Anderton Lane. PC Colin Taylor said: ?There was an accident on August 2 but other than that this was the only incident in the last 12 months.? Mrs Allison, who normally accompanies her grand-daughter to school along the road, added: ?I use it four times a day. It?s a nightmare of a road ? none of the trees are cut back and nobody does 30mph down there. Let?s hope something is done before someone is killed.?
