THE frustrated owners of a listed Tollhouse at British Camp have painted their home bright yellow in an attempt to slow down passing traffic.

The front of the 1840 Grade II listed building stands immediately on the edge of the busy A449 Ledbury to Malvern road.

In July a motorcyclist lost his arm after he was in collision with a Land Rover just beyond the Tollhouse.

The Land Rover was exiting British Camp Road, a track serving several houses. A mirror is in place but drivers coming onto the main road cannot see beyond about 20 metres as the road curves past the Tollhouse.

Residents say traffic travels as fast as 60mph making the junction extremely dangerous.

Kerry Savage and Debbie Sly, who live in the Tollhouse, said: "Herefordshire Council has refused outright to do anything about a speed limit so painting our house is a way of making it very noticeable and slowing people down. We don't want to wait until someone is killed.

"We also think it is quite a cheerful colour appropriate for a tollhouse."

A red sign warning drivers of the concealed entrance was recently put up by concerned residents at British Camp.

Helen Turner has gathered 280 signatures, names and addresses for a petition, which is to be lodged with the Highways Agency.

She said: "We are not making a great deal of progress with the council in trying to get a speed limit of some description. At weekends it's extremely busy with walkers, dogs and children visiting a nearby Iron Age fort and there is no footway for them on the road. It's not going to be too long before a very, very serious accident happens."

John Colyer, Herefordshire Council's transportation manager, said that an accident investigation team was looking at British Camp and ascertaining the skid resistance of the road, pavements, signage and where and how the Worcestershire Way crosses it.

He said: "We accept there are legitimate concerns. However, a speed limit is not the best solution in this situation because it would most likely not be obeyed by most drivers, which is worse than no speed limit. Motorists need to be able to see some reason for the speed limit in order to obey it and there's no obvious reason here."

He said he expected the investigation to be complete by the end of the year.