Boy racers and speeding drivers on road scare residents who fear ‘someone will die’

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents on a road feel scared by boy racers speeding on their street, saying it’s only a matter of time before someone loses their life.

Kings Hall Road sits in Beckenham, between Kent House and New Beckenham train stations. The road is known for its beautiful houses, selling for up to £1.6million according to Rightmove, but has become notorious for residents in recent years for speeding cars and reckless driving.

Alka Sharma, 49, lives on the bend of Kings Hall Road. The mum said speeding on the road is so bad that last year a pizza delivery driver crashed into the wall of her driveway.

Ms Sharma said: “They were racing and then one of them, he was just 18 or 19, very young, just smashed it. He was very, very lucky because of the wall and the tree. He didn’t go any further and the car just stopped.”

She added: “That was quite a serious incident and luckily, because of the utility pole outside, he didn’t hit anyone. There was one car that was hit slightly but there were no lives lost and nobody was majorly injured… It was quite scary. We felt how unsafe one could be.”

Becky Woods, 43, lives in Kings Hall Road with her family and said the street has become a rat run for drivers wishing to get around the nearby railway lines.

She said locals have been complaining to Bromley council about the issue for years in the hopes of seeing speed bumps being added, but the problem has still not been addressed.

Jennifer Kafcas, 52, has lived in Kings Hall Road for 13 years and said speeding has become “insane” in recent years. She said many boy racers speed down the road, sometimes on the wrong side of the street, and locals fear someone may soon lose their life.

She said: “We don’t let our kids play out here because we’re worried. One time we were driving out and the guy just drove right on the pavement to get around. The kids were playing, if a kid was sitting there they would’ve been run over.

“Then the guy chased us down and threatened my husband, to beat him up. The kids were crying. I filmed it, he was telling me he was going to kill me. It was horrible.”

Labour councillors Simon Jeal, Kathy Bance and Kevin Kennedy-Brooks, who represent the Penge and Cator ward for Bromley council, said they were aware of the large number of children and road safety issues on Kings Hall Road and have engaged with residents to lobby Bromley council for several years.

They said Transport for London (TfL) funding had allowed for a pedestrian crossing and 20mph zone to be added on the southern end of the street, but acknowledged that residents remained concerned.

Bromley council was approached for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.

Pictured top: Alka Sharma, 49, beside the bricks of the wall of her driveway after it was crashed into by a car (Picture: Joe Coughlan)