Residents of an Aberdeenshire village have claimed the byway to their homes has turned into a scene from “Wacky Races” due to a road closure.
Locals in Gartly are fearing for their safety after Old Military Road, between the A97 Huntly to Dinnet and the A96 Aberdeen to Huntly roads, was turned into a rat run.
The A97 has been closed between Bucharn and Huntly by Aberdeenshire Council edge repairs since last week, and is expected to remain shut until Sunday.
But yesterday, locals claimed lorry drivers were ignoring a “not suitable for HGVs” sign on the Old Military Road – adding to the huge influx of traffic.
Motorists are said to be ignoring the official council-implemented diversion along the B9002 Oyne to Kennethmont road, which leads from Insch to the A96.
Residents claim some of the HGVs – which include tankers and farm animal floats – are so large they come within inches of roadside homes, leaving one local woman too scared to enter her kitchen during rush hours.
Diane Goldsworthy, who lives along the route, said the situation was “totally out of control”.
The 70-year-old added: “It is a narrow little road, it is only one-and-a-half car’s width. It has got a few passing places, cars can get past, but it just doesn’t handle the volumes.
“It is people ignoring what the council said. They want people to divert and drive through Kennethmont and Insch. That diversion is about eight to nine miles.
“It is just ridiculous. There is no speed restrictions on the road. It is just used as a race track. I have a neighbour next door that has three small children and another neighbour with two children.”
Neighbour Donna Taylor added: “It is a nightmare, you are just always waiting for a ‘bang’ because the road is so narrow. It is usually a very quiet road.
“I can understand why people don’t want to use the diversion because it is a long way round, but the lorries are ignoring the ‘not suitable for HGVs’ sign and coming up anyway.”
A council spokeswoman said: “Aberdeenshire Council encourages people to use the official diversion to minimise inconvenience to local residents.”