DISGRUNTLED residents are being driven potty by holes that are blighting their gravel track in Ringwood.

The 24 residents at Old Mill House on the Bickerley have to fork out £2,800 each year to maintain their short, unmade lane, which leads from Bickerley Road to their flats.

They say the condition of the straight track has worsened since Kings Arms Lane was made one-way, increasing the number of motorists using it as a cut-through to reach other properties close to the river.

Now the committee is calling on Ringwood Town Council to block access to their track, forcing motorists to use a second track to access other houses.

The chairman of the house management committee Amanda Cresswell said: “Each resident has to pay to maintain the road, which leads from the main Bickerley Road to our flats.

“There are two tracks that lead to Riverside Terrace and Bickerley, but the other is narrow and longer, so it is understandable why people would use our lane.

“But we are very concerned with the increasing number of cars using our track. It was fine 30 years ago but there are many more cars on the road and now Kings Arms Lane is one way the problem has become worse.

“We understand why people are using our track. It is easier to access Bickerley Road, but it is costly for us to maintain and it is the residents at Old Mill House who are left with the bill.

“To keep things simple we would like to block access from the second track to our track, which would allow motorists access to the Old Mill House flats only.”

Ringwood Town Council clerk Terry Simpson said: “We believe that Tudor Rose Estate, which owns the farm land, a couple of other farmers and members of the public have rights of way along the track.

“However we are checking the rights of way with our solicitors to make sure that the information we hold is correct.

“We do understand that there are issues with the state of the road, but we just cannot cancel the rights of way.”