ANGRY Feltham residents are threatening to take drastic action against Hounslow Council after building work left their pavements in ruins.

According to residents the pavements on Harvest Road, Lower Feltham, were destroyed when independent building work started just off the western end of the road.

The damage was caused by lorries, cranes, bulldozers and cement mixers using the road as access to the site, previously a spot of waste ground.

Harley Buckner, co-ordinator of the Harvest Road Residents, said: "The site had a narrow access so you had lorries doing all manner of strange things in Harvest Road.

"It was appalling. We know you can't make omelettes without cracking a few eggs but this was ridiculous."

Mr Buckner's front wall was also knocked over by the turning lorries.

He demanded that the builders put the wall back up but they said leave it until the building work finished as it would only get knocked down again.' Pavements were left cracked and subsided. Mr Buckner explained: "No words can do it justice. It looks like something out of Bosnia, only this wouldn't happen in Bosnia because the UN would be all over it."

To add insult to injury, the houses built by the offending builders are standing empty. Locals believe they are uninhabitable due to their location close to a water source on Spring Road, which leaves them prone to flooding during heavy rain.

Although the damage was done by a private firm, the maintenance of highways and pavements is the responsibility of the council.

To date, Mr Buckner claims their only response has been to place wooden boards over some of the worse areas.

Residents have written to the council, and sent texts and emails to councillors. The group are now considering taking more serious action. Mr Buckner explained that they have been looking into the possibility of withdrawing payments of council tax, instead paying them into an account with a solicitor to be returned to the council once the work has been done.

Another suggestion has been to block off the road to pedestrians, forcing them to use the nearby highway and highlighting the problem of the road.

Mr Buckner defended such actions: "One day someone will fall over, sue the council and our tax rates will go up again."

An elderly resident suffering from arthritis agreed with these remarks: "The state of the pavement is terrible and very dangerous to the older folks."

A petition listing over two thirds of the road's residents was due to be taken to the council on Thursday, although Mr Buckner was not sure the outcome would be positive.

"We have brought it to their attention many, many times. We just want it returned to its previous state, we don't want more than that. But there is no glory for the council in repairing pavements. The council can't cut any blue ribbons here."

However, the council insist the work will be done eventually. A spokeswoman for the council said: "The building contractors initially said they would repair the damage to the pavements but have so far failed to start the work. The council is now going to undertake the work and charge the contractors for it."

But Mr Buckner was sceptical about such promises. "We'll have to wait and see," he said.