Part of a busy main road is a "recipe for disaster" says a man whose property was wrecked by a car that crashed into his garden.

John Mayne says the A230 Maidstone Road, in Chatham, needs to be made safer after a car smashed into his front garden, damaging his property and car.

He says the speed of vehicles is particularly bad between The Ridgeway and where it becomes the A229, at the top of City Way, despite it being a 30mph limit.

This is where he hopes Medway Council will install a traffic island.

In the crash, which happened in October last year, Mr Mayne's garden wall was hit with such force that it sent bricks flying, smashing front bedroom windows and making a hole in his roof, as well as writing off his car.

Although he and his family were inside the house at the time, thankfully no one was hurt.

He said: "That was once in a lifetime, hopefully. But the risks are everyday risks and obviously it's made us very nervous.

'I am not alone here. I don't think the local community will rest until something is done...'

"It's only about a 300-metre length of road, but it is so straight and wide it invites speeding.

"It's actually a 30mph limit but nobody bothers about that.

"There's a hatched area down the middle but that's been completely worn away because people ignore it. People use it for overtaking.

"It's a nightmare for pedestrians to cross because the traffic volumes are so high and because of its width, they usually cross it in two stages, waiting precariously in the middle which is where the overtaking takes place.

"So it's a real recipe for disaster.

"There have been five similar incidents over the years with five boundary walls knocked down.

"People lose control on this section of straight road because they speed.

"I am not alone here. I don't think the local community will rest until something is done."

Ward councillor Rupert Turpin (Con) handed in the petition with 50 signatures to the council in January.

Initially, council officers concluded the road would not be a priority for new safety measures as data showed there had been only one incident involving an injury in the last five years.

The petition was discussed during a meeting of the council's regeneration, culture and environment overview and scrutiny committee last week.

During the meeting, officers agreed to look into the proposals, including the traffic island idea.

Cllr Turpin said: "Drivers using an A-road expect to be able to travel at speed, however, it is time we turned this expectation on its head and gave priority to the local residents who live in an urban area but who nevertheless do not want to live their lives in fear of speeding cars, accidents and near misses affecting their properties and even their own safety, unable to cross the road safely by foot.”