Residents have been left in despair following changes to access along a busy Dorchester road.

Part of St Georges Road in Fordington, adjacent to Red Cow Farm, was closed off last month meaning motorists wanting to access the recycling centre at the end of the street would only be able to use the newly developed Lubbecke Way - funded by the Duchy of Cornwall.

But residents in the area feel the changes have led to increased traffic and dangers to pedestrians, 'stand-offs' between motorists and problems with access with regards to the ambulance station.

Sarah Siddall who lives on Lubbecke Way said she believes there has been a "severe lack of thought and planning to the finer details of changing the roads".

She said: "Within two hours of the new access road there was already damage to the large trees on the riverside from the lorries travelling up and down. There has been many 'stand-offs' between lorries and cars who have had nowhere to go when coming and going up the road, at one point a car with a trailer nearly reversed into parked cars. Something surely has to be done about this.

"We all knew that when the road opened, there would be a high volume of traffic, but drivers are not even considerate enough to slow down.

I have lived on the estate for 18 years my daughter has grown up and moved out, when they were young all the children played on the river bank, some of the younger kids still do. But the cars are using the road a 'rat run', so some of the children have made their own posters and put them up in protest."

Cllr Tony Lyall who lives on St Georges Road said he had always said the road changes "were never going to work".

A Duchy of Cornwall spokesperson said: "The Duchy understands the concerns of some residents of Lubbecke Way following the road's extension and has passed all relevant complaints to Dorset County Council. The council, as Highway Authority, has the power to enforce any traffic restrictions should they be deemed necessary."

A Dorset County Council spokesman added: "We are investigating solutions to this issue. We’ve consulted with Cllr Canning and Cllr Jones and will be implementing some experimental restrictions that may involve cones or yellow lines. We will continue to monitor the situation.”