ANGRY residents have claimed that resurfacing work in Station Road, Okehampton, has turned their road into a dust-track.

Jane Bailey, who lives in Station Road, said: ?The dust is everywhere and there are more potholes in the road than there were before.?

She said the sunny weather last Thursday and Friday had caused the tar in Station Road and Castle Road, to melt and chippings which had been put down on top were creating dust which became scattered along the roads.

She said dust had covered cars and homes along the road, and tar had run into some residents? homes.

?If we wanted to live in a road like this, we would go and live in the desert,? said Mrs Bailey.

Devon County Council said when they have fully investigated why there has been a problem with the roadlaying process, any remedial work which needs to be carried out will be undertaken.

Mrs Bailey said in addition to being dirty, the surface was also slippery and dangerous.

Mrs Bailey said the amount of dust left in the road was ?disgusting?. ?They have made a right hash of it,? she added.

Contractors South West Highways came out and swept the chippings in the road on Monday, which Mrs Bailey said seemed to do little to resolve the problem. On Tuesday, council contractors came and put the white line markings for the road down.

Another Okehampton resident wrote to the Times to express dismay at the standard of the work.

Trevor Bishop described the work carried out on Station Road as ?disgusting workmanship?.

?I have never seen such a bodge job,? he added.

Mr Bishop, a painter and decorator who had been working at a property in Station Road, said he had twice had cracks in the windscreen of his van caused by loose chippings while driving along the road.

And he said the grit and dust in the air was even creating a problem for people walking past the road.

?I have seen a lot of people rubbing their eyes,? he said.

The retarmacing work involved a process called top dressing, where tar is put down and stone chippings laid on top.

A spokesmen for Devon County Council acknowledged there had been a problem with the work carried out in Station Road and Castle Road.

?There has been a problem with the usual process.

?We are investigating to find out what has caused this and any remedial work will have to be carried out.?

The spokesmen added: ?We apologise for any disruption to residents and road users.?