TRAFFIC problems are continuing to blight the lives of residents on one of the main roads into St Austell.

Huge lorries rumbling along Treverbyn Road are making lives hell and residents say it's only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt.

Now they are pleading with Cornwall Council to listen.

The A391 bypass was built to divert traffic away from the area, but residents say the busy road is still used as a rat run.

Richard Woolhouse, who has lived on the road for more than 20 years, said: "These huge 40-tonne lorries thunder up and down the road several times a day.

"In their infinite wisdom, companies have bought trailers that are 15ft 10in high, and therefore will not fit under the railway bridge at Holmbush, which is 15ft 6in high.

"So they are still using Treverbyn Road and Slades Road.

"These lorry and trailer outfits should never be using roads like this.

"They are dodging in and out of parked cars and not observing the 30mph speed limit either.

"What was the point of the link road being built?"

Mr Woolhouse said it was a relatively recent problem, but now several big name companies were sending their lorries via Treverbyn Road.

"I've contacted one of the companies and was told they had no other option but to come this way," he said. "They've got no choice if they can't fit under the bridge.

"The simple answer is that they shouldn't be using trailers that high. Can the extra four inches in height make that much difference to what they are carrying?

"It's become an absolutely murderous place to live.

"I love it here, with the outlook that we've got, but it's not the nice, quiet road that it used to be."

Last year the St Austell Guardian reported how drivers parking illegally on the thoroughfare were exasperating locals.

Mr Woolhouse said people stopped on double yellow lines seven days a week because they knew they could get away with it.

He said: "Pulling out of our driveway is like taking your life into your own hands. You have to nose out and hold your breath, hoping that nothing's coming, because the cars block our view."

Steve Double, Cornwall councillor for the Poltair ward, said he would look into the problem and advised residents to write to the Highways Department.

"I know a lot of people use Treverbyn Road as a short cut – and I suspect lorry drivers use it because satnav directs them that way. It's the most direct route."