CALLS have been made for a reduced speed limit on Maldon Road leading into Burnham following complaints of too many reckless drivers.

The B1010, known by some as the “Burnham Bends” currently has a national speed limit of 60 miles an hour.

Local residents have spoken out over many drivers using the bends as a “race track” late at night and day drivers ignoring the limits and driving dangerously.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “The whole speeding issue has been going on for over 30 years. The simple solution would be a permanent 30mph limit round the bends into Burnham, especially considering the increase in residential and business addresses that now live on and use the bends every day.”

Fellow resident Jack Goldman added: “So many aggressive overtakes happen down there, with people going well over 70 miles an hour with no respect for other drivers. Some kind of enforcement is needed.”

Essex Police Casualty Reduction Officer Adam Pipe also believes a speed restriction would benefit the safety of the road.

He said: “It needs to be recognised that on Maldon Road that a speed limit is indeed a limit.

“The road need to be respected for its abilities and what it is capable of. When we do speed checks along the road, the people we catch out often tend to be locally based, who are more familiar with it and so become overly relaxed to it.

“For some time now we have been pushing for a 50 mile an hour limit for the road, as we have introduced it to other roads in Essex and it has seen a profound drop in the number of casualties.

“The B184 near Saffron Walden had quite a severe casualty record, and when we introduced the 50 mile an hour limit this went down significantly.”

He added: “We will continue to work with the highways authorities to pursue a 50 mile an hour limit, and we always encourage the users of Maldon Road to respect the limit and the roads abilities when using it.”

A spokesman for Essex Highways said: “Residents who are concerned about speed limits on this road should raise the matter with the Maldon District Local Highways Panel through either the Burnham on Crouch Town Council or their local Essex County Councillor. Views expressed by Essex Police would certainly be taken into account by the panel.”