Lorry drivers travelling into Ironbridge Gorge are being unnecessarily directed by sat nav systems down a steep and narrow country lane, residents claimed today.

Walls, posts and cars have been damaged as bemused drivers struggle past speed bumps, chicanes, sharp bends and a 12 ft 3ins high railway bridge along Cherry Tree Hill in Coalbrookdale.

Frustrated residents want clearer signs put up directing industrial traffic on to the main road and have called a summit meeting with police and transport chiefs next week to discuss the problems.

Richard Soame, 40, said: “We have a group of residents here who are fed up and who are going to fight for what we believe in.

“We can’t get police to enforce the signage and we have huge articulated lorries which regularly use it, despite the introduction of speed bumps ten years ago plus a man-made narrowing in the road.

“The excuse by the lorry drivers is ‘my sat nav told me to come down here.’

“We would like a sign at the top of the road to clearly tell them to ignore their sat navs as they will get stuck.”

Residents are also concerned about speeding and the lack of gritting on the 30mph road this winter.

A car crashed into the wall outside Mr Soame’s home in December in an accident he said was a due to the absence of road salt and a poorly-placed speed bump.

He said: “Our road is cambered, naturally as it’s in the gorge and everything slopes to the middle. But that means if a lorry lost control we’d have a guaranteed accident involving a house. We all just want a few changes to make things better for everyone.”

Cherry Tree Hill’s traffic issues will be discussed at a meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday at the Steel Sculpture Museum. Councillors Andrew Eade, Louise Lomax and Adrian Lawrence, highways officers and parish councillors are all due to attend.

Police roads expert Constable Rod Lake will be available from 6.30pm to 7.30pm to answer questions.

Telford & Wrekin Council confirmed there was a 7.5 tonne weight restriction, with signs at both ends of the road. It declined comment on the problems until it heard from residents at next week’s meeting.

Cherry Tree Hill features traffic calming measures to control motorists short-cutting from the Queensway to Ironbridge.

By Danny Carden