PRESSURE is mounting for a road junction near a village primary school to be closed to all traffic.

Currently, the Cornforth Lane access to and from the A177 Thinford Road in Coxhoe, near Durham, is open to buses only.

However, residents say many motorists ignore the prominent ‘no entry’ signs.

The illegal rat run has become popular with so-called boy racers and there has been at least one crash recently, which left one car overturned.

The junction is also near Coxhoe Primary School, leading to fears over children’s safety.

A delegation of around 35 villagers raised the issue at a recent Police and Communities Together (Pact) meeting, demanding the junction be closed entirely.

That prompted Coxhoe Parish Council to launch a public consultation, asking residents whether they would support a closure.

Stuart Dunn, vice-chairman of the parish council, said there were 75 responses, with two-thirds in favour of the change.

The authority will discuss the results of the survey on Thursday (October 9) and could then ask Durham County Council to begin the formal process of closure.

Councillor Dunn said: “It’s getting to the point where something really needs to be done, for people’s safety.

“The people who go through usually do so at quite a speed. The police are fully supportive of the (closure) proposal.”

The junction is correctly used by the twice-hourly Arriva number 57 service between Durham and Kelloe and Cllr Dunn said the parish would need to consider the needs of senior citizens using the bus from Cornforth Lane.

However, he suggested the 57 service could be easily diverted via Station Road, a move which could be beneficial if as proposed nearly 200 new homes are built nearby.

Dave Wafer, the county’s council’s strategic traffic manager, said: “We would be happy to receive information from Coxhoe Parish Council regarding their consultation and discuss the issues raised with them.

“Once we have discussed this further we would then look to consider the wider implications for bus services and emergency access alongside the views of the residents.”

The issue will be debated at a Coxhoe Parish Plan review meeting in the village hall on Thursday (October 9) at 7pm.