TWO cats have been killed in the last few days by cars using Denmark Road at Beccles as a rat run - and a child could be next.That is the stark warning from worried residents fed up with the traffic, much of it from the nearby Tesco foodstore, using the narrow road - and now, one has raised a petition calling on Suffolk County Council to take action before there is a death.

TWO cats have been killed in the last few days by cars using Denmark Road at Beccles as a rat run - and a child could be next.

That is the stark warning from worried residents fed up with the traffic, much of it from the nearby Tesco foodstore, using the narrow road - and now, one has raised a petition calling on Suffolk County Council to take action before there is a death.

Nathan Fox, who lives in the road and has two young children, aged three and four, said this week:

“I have got the petition up before a child gets killed here. I have had two cats killed in 24 hours, and something has to be done before a child gets killed. The cats could have been children.”

So far he has 108 names on the petition from residents of Denmark Road and adjoining streets, and he said: “People share my views. Traffic speeds through here like there is no tomorrow to get back on to the one way system. We are calling for a 20 mph speed limit or sleeping policemen - that would take half the traffic from Tesco away from here.”

Mr Fox said he had lived there five years and traffic had got much worse in that time, and he claimed sometimes cars went through at 60mph. He said such was the concern about the problem that he had had people coming to him, who did not live in the vicinity, asking to sign the petition.

When complete it will go to Suffolk County Council. Waveney District councillor Graham Elliott is supporting the efforts, and police are also looking into it.

Another Denmark Road resident, Ian West, said it was used as a rat run between Tesco, George Westwood Way and Ravensmere.

“This is a quiet residential street but the amount of traffic has increased many times over the past few years, and mainly people are driving at really excessive speed,” he said.

“Kids are playing in the street and there are elderly people here. Pets have been killed and it is not going to be long before a human suffers the same fate.”

Youth drivers used it as a race track,” he added. He felt the idea might be to change the junction at the approach to Tesco so vehicles could not go down Denmark Road from that end.

The town council has been aware for sometime of problems with traffic from Tescos, and has had talks with the company to try to address it, so far without success.

A Suffolk County Council spokesman said they had not been contacted about the problem, but added:

“If anyone has concerns and they contact us we would certainly consider the concerns. When we get the petition we will do that - or if someone calls us before then an engineer could meet them to discuss it.”