Sutton road speed bumps removed because they are 'wrong colour'

They were finally victorious this year when transport chiefs agreed to spend more than £50,000 building speed cushions along the road and a raised platform at either end.

Work began on Monday this week but no sooner were the first of six sets of speed cushions up than they had to uprooted.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said he had been told the humps were removed because they were black rather than the standard red in other nearby roads.

"I find it beyond a joke they couldn't get it right after all this time we've spent waiting," he added.

Residents have long complained of commuters using the street as a short-cut between Upper Sutton Lane and Heston Road.

They say drivers regularly speed down the 30mph road, putting pedestrians' lives at risk. Motorists have even been known to end up in people's front gardens after trying to take the sharp bends too quickly.

Tony Cooper, chairman of Heston Community Development Association, was one of the people behind the original petition in 2004.

He said he was mystified by the sudden disappearance of the new speed humps but hoped the work would make a difference to residents' lives when completed.

"Hopefully this will reduce some of the traffic and encourage drivers to cut their speed but we will have to see what the long-term effect will be," he told the Chronicle.

Householders in Sutton Road originally campaigned to have the street closed to prevent people using it as a short-cut.

However, there were fears this would cause congestion on surrounding roads, and a compromise was eventually reached.