A 15-YEAR nightmare finally looks to have ended for a Hagley couple who have been unable to get out of their drive without fear of death.

Pensioners Bob and Pat Backhouse had to take their life in their hands every time they tried to pull out of their driveway on the busy Stourbridge Road, as their bungalow sits just on the corner of a junction that many motorists exiting the A456 Kidderminster Road fail to slow down for.

The couple were at the end of their tether and terrified every time they tried to leave their home until Worcestershire County Council installed new traffic calming kerbing on the corner of the road.

Mr Backhouse said: "It has been very difficult. We've been pressing the council for 15 years to put an improvement there.

"We were trying to get out of our drive and cars were on top of us before we could get out and it was the same going in. Cars would be right on your tail and you'd get a lot of aggression just from trying to get out of your own property."

Highways chiefs put hatching down previously to try and slow traffic down at the junction but Mr Backhouse said "it made virtually no difference".

He added: "It's only really in the last couple of months that we've actually got recognition of the problem.

"All we've wanted is to be able to drive in and out of our property safely. We were told 'no' so many times."

Rachel Jenkins, Worcestershire County Council's independent councillor for Clent Hills, said she had been pushing traffic bosses to take action since she was elected in May 2013.

She said: "It's taken me 18 months to get this and it's been a godsend. It's really good news. Money is tight but we managed to get this work through to get traffic to take a wider angle around the corner which gives Bob a few more seconds to get out of the driveway."

Mr Backhouse said the new kerbing, which cost £2,549, has "made a noticeable difference".

A spokesman for Worcestershire County Council said the experimental kerbing would be "monitored for its effectiveness at reducing speeds at the junction with a view to making the change permanent".

The county council took over responsibility for the junction from the Highways Agency after the 'de-trunking' of the A456.