A BURNESIDE woman says she is ‘at the end of her tether’ after having the wall and fence of her house demolished by lorries travelling to Croppers paper mill – for the third time this year.

Jill Atkinson has lived in the Old School House, opposite James Cropper Plc, for 24 years, but has recently experienced a sharp increase in HGVs coming the wrong way onto the site and navigating a tight bend next to her property.

In February this year one wagon knocked down the entire fence around Mrs Atkinson’s garden after attempting to turn into the mill.

The damage was repaired by South Lakes Housing in June, but last Thursday Mrs Atkinson received a phone call from her son saying both fence and wall had been demolished – with debris falling onto a play house used by her one-year-old grandson.

“If he’d have been inside it would have killed him,” she said, “it’s absolutely disgusting. I can’t use my garden now.”

Plastic barriers were put up as a temporary solution to fence Mrs Atkinson’s garden, but were knocked down by yet another lorry on Monday.

“It came thundering round the corner and took down all the plastic fencing we had to make it secure into the garden,” Mrs Atkinson said.

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“There are more wagons using the roads than ever before, and their sat navs are bringing them the wrong way past my house.

“It doesn’t help that Croppers have a sign there that says ‘Reception and Main Entrance’ pointing up my road.

“They say they’re waiting for permission from Cumbria County Council to put up a sign saying ‘No Wagons’ but if it doesn’t happen soon then it’s only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt. I’m really at the end of my tether – it’s a nightmare.”

A spokesperson for the company said: "James Cropper plc is very much in agreement with our local community that HGV’s taking the wrong route through the village causes problems.

"The traffic situation in the village has been exacerbated in recent times by hauliers and their sub-contractors following SatNav systems when they reach Burneside, rather than following the directional signs to the mill. SatNav systems direct traffic on a route through the village that is not suitable for large vehicles.

"The company is proactively working with, and taking guidance from, the local parish council and the highways agency to improve the situation."