TRAFFIC measures which prevent vehicles passing through a Flintshire estate need to be made more robust, a councillor has warned.

Buckley Councillor Carol Ellis has spoken of her concerns about the condition of a set of bollards at the end of Elfed Drive in the town.

She told the Leader they were installed about 10 years ago - as was another set some metres way at the end of Ffordd Rowland - in order to stop traffic using the route as a through road.

While four of Elfed Drive's bollards are sturdy, she said three are made of a more "flimsy" material and have been damaged in the past as vehicles attempt to squeeze through.

One was damaged in recent weeks and needs repairing urgently, Cllr Ellis has said - as children play in the street and there is a play area nearby.

She explained: "The decision had been made that there would be a through road from Alltami through both estates to Mold Road.

"We got that overturned on safety issues - it was one of the biggest protests Flintshire has ever seen. We had petitions with thousands of signatures - it was huge.

"The bollards were installed about 10 years ago. Four of them in Elfed Drive are robust and made of a sturdy plastic. The other three there are flimsy.

"What someone has discovered with one of them is that if you drive at it, it will collapse. Only small cars can get through, but they are cars nonetheless.

"It is happening and it is a big safety issue because we have a play area in Ffordd Rowland and it's on the route for kids coming into school from the estate as well.

"The same bollard had been damaged before and it has just been repaired with a bit of black tape - it needs addressing now. It compromises safety."

Several homes sit in the road between the two sets of bollards. Parents who live there told the Leader what they thought about the situation.

Megan Stewart, 26, said: "I hated them (the bollards) at first but now I'm quite partial to them. "My five-year-old daughter Sophia plays in the street and I know that no cars can come down here."

Jordan Culley, 28, said he has concerns about the current layout, explaining: "When my son was two, we had to call an ambulance out because he had a high fever.

"I had to carry him from the house to the ambulance - the ambulance couldn't get to the front of out house because of the bollards."

He added he would not want to see any through traffic go down the road, but would prefer that one set of bollards be taken away to improve access to the homes for emergency service vehicles and deliveries.

Flintshire Council was approached for a comment.