The small village next to ‘one of the worst roads in Cambridgeshire’

The village is only home to around 700 people – but it’s right next to one of Cambridgeshire’s most dangerous roads

Locals who live in a small village next to a notoriously dangerous road say the area is used as a “cut through”. Guyhirn is a small village in Cambridgeshire that’s only home to around 700 people.

While the River Nene divides the village from this road, Guyhirn is situated very close to the A47. Some residents in Guyhirn have said they are “wary” of the road, which is the only main route that connects the village to other places such as Wisbech.

Rebecca Parsons, who’s lived in Guyhirn for 20 years, said the A47 is a “nightmare” especially when there is a crash on the road. She added: “If they ever close it, all of the A47 comes through Guyhirn. They’ve [cars] churned up all the grass down [this road]. And it can be noisy, especially if they’re doing the roadworks all of the time.”

Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said the village is used as a “cut through” for the A47. He said: “The A47 makes Guyhirn a very noisy place. Depsite there being a hill and river in between us and the road, you still manage to hear everything. I use the road a lot, but that’s because it’s the only main road out of here.”

The resident said he understands why the road has such a “bad reputation”, adding: “There are a lot of accidents that happen on it. They need to majorly improve it because, I think it’s one of the worst roads in Cambridgeshire.”

Richie King also uses the A47 frequently and said he sees “silly people” using it. He added: “Living here [in Guyhirn], you get a bit of disturbance from the A47. If it’s not the constant noise of people speeding through here, then it’s emergency services on the A47 itself.

“The traffic can pile up through here sometimes as well. The village itself doesn’t have a lot of trouble, but the road is our main problem.”

Ms Withers, who wished to not include her first name, said that despite there being “no alternative” road out of Guyhirn, she is “very wary” of using the A47. She added: “There are too many idiot drivers that use it.

“It impacts our village if anything happens on it. A lot of traffic comes through it and then it causes more disruption. Drivers also come speeding through here, so it’s unsafe at times.”

Speaking about the A47, a National Highways spokesperson said: “Our ambition remains that no-one should be harmed while travelling or working on our roads and we continue to invest in safety improvements across the region. Road safety is a shared responsibility, and we work closely with partners, organisations and road users to help us collectively achieve this ambition.