'racetrack' residential street sees six cars written off in five days

RESIDENTS LIVING IN SANDY ROAD IN LLANELLI HAVE HAD ENOUGH. THEY CAN'T RELAX INSIDE THEIR OWN HOMES FOR FEAR THAT A DRIVER IS GOING TO CRASH INTO THEIR CARS PARKED OUTSIDE OR, WORSE,

THEIR HOMES 16:40, 21 May 2025Updated 20:59, 21 May 2025 There are fears someone will be killed if changes are not made to a notorious Welsh street which recently saw six cars written off in

the space of just five days due to crashes. Sandy Road, to the west of Llanelli town centre heading towards Burry Port in Carmarthenshire, has long been complained of as a crash hotspot

where drivers exit a roundabout and crash into other parked cars, walls, and signs directly outside people’s homes. Recently Carmarthenshire council announced plans to improve the road by

adding a dedicated right-turn lane at the junction of the A484 (Sandy Road) and Maes-Y-Coed Road in a bid to ease congestion during the daytime. You can read more about that here. However

while daytime congestion continues to be a huge issue for residents it’s road safety – especially at night – which is the chief concern for many. Some of the previous crashes have been

captured on CCTV which you can see above. _Stay informed on Carms news by signing up to __our newsletter here_. Resident Aled Roberts has had two cars “written off” in less than three years.

The second of those was damaged beyond repair following a crash in March. A car came round the corner after exiting the roundabout near The Sandpiper Brewers Fayre and crashed into his car

which was parked outside his home in Sandy Road. Just five days earlier another driver came onto the road and crashed into three parked cars. In total all six cars involved in both incidents

were written off. “If our car was not parked where it was [the driver] could have gone straight through the garden wall and maybe into the bay window at the front of the house,” said Mr

Roberts. “In the night it’s like a racetrack here. I’ve spoken to police and they’ve said they haven’t got a traffic car based in Llanelli and they haven’t got the resources [to maintain a

presence on the road]. But Llaneli is the biggest town in Carmarthenshire so that does not bode well. It’s ridiculous. “The council has widened the roundabout [to the east of Sandy Road] and

they said it was to improve traffic flow but what they’ve done is made things worse because people are racing through it and with it being widened it actually means people can drive through

at greater speeds. There’s even a crash barrier on the road which is almost flat because it’s been hit so many times.” Even with the council’s planned improvements Mr Roberts believes it

won’t solve the congestion issue because “there will be space for two queuing cars in the turning lane but there’s normally four or five cars waiting to turn so there will still be a back-up

of traffic”. Mr Roberts added: “The council are doing everything they can not to build a bypass but I know that will cost millions. It needs some sort of traffic calming measure –

especially coming from the east side. Just widening the roundabout has not worked – drivers are coming off at higher speeds and losing control.” Mr Roberts has accused the council of not

doing enough to ensure the safety of those who live in Sandy Road. “The council is failing in its duty of care to everyone who lives on the road,” he said. “Drivers are losing control of

their cars and there is obviously a problem with the road surface but all the council has done is put up a sign which says: ‘Slippery surface’. “The police say it’s up to the council and the

council say it’s up to the police. It’s like a bat and ball situation for us residents – we’re like a ping-pong ball that’s getting batted back and forth all the time. “There’s no police

presence. You don’t see police around Llanelli at all. The police are reactive and not proactive. Nobody is frightened of police anymore and people can just do what they want in their cars.”

Both the police and the county council have confirmed they are aware of the safety concerns that have been raised by Sandy Road residents and a meeting is due to take place to discuss how

fears can be alleviated. A spokesman for Dyfed-Powys Police said: "Concerns about road safety on Sandy Road, Llanelli, have been raised with police and we will be working with

Carmarthenshire Council and GoSafe to review and address the issues raised." Councillor Edward Thomas, cabinet member for transport, waste, and infrastructure services at

Carmarthenshire Council, said: "We are aware of road safety concerns that have been raised locally and a multi-agency meeting between the council, Dyfed-Powys Police, and GoSafe is

being coordinated to discuss and address these concerns.” Article continues below