Safety fear at junction as one home hit four times

Shanae Boorman-Leech said her house shook when large vehicles went past

People in a Devon hamlet say they fear for their safety because a junction has become a rat-run for vehicles and at least one building hit by vehicles regularly.

The national speed limit of 60mph (95km/h) applies at the T-junction in Brandis Corner, near Holsworthy, and locals want traffic-calming measures.

Shanae Boorman-Leech said bits of her property had been hit four times in three years. One single-vehicle accident saw serious injuries in 2023.

Devon County Council said it prioritised locations where people had been hurt and its "validated data" from 2020-2024 showed "there have been no reported injury collisions" in that time, so it currently had "no plans to install traffic-calming".

Shanae Boorman-Leech who lives with her husband at Brandis Corner

Mrs Boorman-Leech, who bought her former Post Office home seven years ago, said she was anxious all the time at the A3072 junction.

She said: "Every time we turn round and hear those 40 tonnes of brakes go on, the house shakes.

"You're expecting either you are going to hear a crash or something is going to come through the wall.

"We've had the front garden hit; the corner of the garden wall, that's been hit twice."

In December 2024, a car went into the side of her home and she said she was struggling to get it repaired because of difficulty coming up with a plan to put scaffolding up alongside the busy highway.

Sylvie Lee walks along the road, which has no pavement, to her home at Brandis Corner

Many of the homes at Brandis Corner were built when it was just a lane and a quiet A road. There are no footpaths.

Sylvie Lee, 89, said: "You take your life in your hands [out walking], especially if there's any of those big lorries.

"The roads aren't very wide and they come so close."

Cathy Pitt, who has lived there for 50 years, said: "It's got so fast, and the lane... is now like a main road.

"My uncle, who used to live here, drove his cattle down the road.

"He'd run on ahead of them and stop them while he checked the main road and then they scurried across the road into the cowshed. You couldn't do that now."

Bradford and Cookbury Parish councillor Nick Langley said traffic-calming was needed.

He said: "The answer here that I would personally like to see, and I know many of my fellow councillors would like to see, is three-way traffic lights.

"That would really solve the problem."

Inside where the former Post Office at Brandis Corner was damaged

In the meantime Mrs. Boorman-Leech said the part of her home that was damaged in December could not be used because it was unsafe.

She said she was still trying to agree a way forward with her builders and Devon County Council.

The council said: "While we understand the homeowner's wish to protect their property, because of the position of the extension in relation to the road, there are concerns that any Road Restraint System (RRS) or safety barrier at this location could encroach onto the highway.

"We need more information including a detailed plan of any the proposed RRS installation and we would be happy to discuss this with the owner of the property further."