RESIDENTS are furious about post and rail fencing which has gone up on grass verges outside their homes to force some of them to have crossovers installed. Herts Highways has put up the posts and rails in Caledon Road, London Colney, to stop people drivin

RESIDENTS are furious about post and rail fencing which has gone up on grass verges outside their homes to force some of them to have crossovers installed.

Herts Highways has put up the posts and rails in Caledon Road, London Colney, to stop people driving up over the kerb to park on their properties. .

But even those who have paid for crossovers are feeling the impact of the new restriction.

Paula Bentley lives in Caledon Road and has paid �2,000 to have the kerb lowered outside her house. Her father Paul Blythe said that the posts and rails were unsightly and made it difficult to manoeuvre in and out of the drive.

He also said it made it difficult to put out the refuse bins and that the original plan for bollards would have worked better and not been so intrusive. But workmen told him the fencing was a cheaper solution.

He added: "It's very inconvenient. I am disabled and have problems manoeuvring anyway but this has made life very difficult. I don't know why the council has singled out this end of the road for treatment."

A spokesman for Herts Highways said officers had written to the residents on a number of occasions to advise them that they would need to have crossovers constructed before they were legally entitled to drive over the verge to gain access to their own properties.

He accepted that crossovers would cost in the region of �1,500 but said the verges had been damaged leaving Herts Highways with no option other than to install measures to protect them.

He said: "The post and rail protection is more effective and much less expensive than standard bollards. Since its installation, residents have made applications for proper crossovers (dropped kerbs) which - as well as being a legal requirement - are needed to ensure that the footway is strong enough to carry vehicles."

He maintained that if the creation of crossovers prevented further damage to the verge, the posts and rails could be removed.

Herts Highways did not accept that the barriers hindered refuse collections or were causing difficulties to residents, he added.