Concrete blocks installed to stop village 'rat run'

LDRS A photo of the road closureLDRS
The council said motorists continued to ignore road closure signs and cones blocking the road
  • Concrete blocks have been installed near a village in Cornwall to stop it being used as a "rat run"
  • It comes as major upgrades are being made to the A30 between Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross
  • Motorists have been using the village of Silverwell to try to avoid delays in the area

Cornwall Council has installed concrete blocks to stop drivers using a village as a "rat run" to escape delays caused by ongoing work to dual the A30, between Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross.

The council said the road through Silverwell was "not suitable for through traffic".

"For the safety of residents, we’ve had to install concrete blocks to enforce the legal closure of the road leading to the village to prevent unauthorised access," it said.

The authority added official diversion routes were in place "that are suitable for all vehicles".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the council said on social media last week that “for the safety of residents" the concrete blocks would "enforce the legal closure of the road leading to the village of Silverwell to prevent unauthorised access and ‘rat running’".

Silverwell sits on the St Agnes side of the A30 between Mithian and Mount Hawke.

A council spokesperson added residents were "supportive of the move as some motorists continued to ignore road closure signs and cones blocking the road, even getting out of their vehicles to move them, as they tried to avoid official diversion routes".

"Motorists are reminded that it is illegal to drive through a road closure."

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].

Related internet links