CHANGES to a Borders road are an “accident in the making” according to a local resident.

Linda Watt said she was shocked to find that signage and water tubs blocking Caddonfoot Road had been removed.

Although the barriers at the Caddonfoot end of the B701 have been made a permanent fixture, Ms Watt says the temporary measures and signs which were in place just past Caddon Haugh have now been removed and replaced with a sign “no bigger than an A4 piece of paper”.

Now Scottish Borders Council (SBC) has said it will put up additional signs to alert drivers that there is no access to Caddonfoot.

SBC officially closed the road connecting Caddonfoot to Clovenfords in March 2022 following a consultation. It saw more than 200 people out of 310 support the plans to remove vehicles from the road – making it a space for walkers, wheelers and cyclists.

However, Ms Watt says the removal of blocks at Caddon Haugh has meant that drivers are using the road on a “regular basis”, with one driver she flagged down and spoke to saying that their satnav had instructed them to take the road.

She said cars have been spotted driving up to the national speed limit along the road, particularly close to the playing fields.

Ms Watt added: “It’s unbelievable.

“Someone is going to lose a life or get seriously injured.”

In response to the concerns, an SBC spokesperson said: "Appropriate signage to alert drivers to that fact that Caddonfoot Road is inaccessible has been in place and there is also a pedestrians on road warning sign in place.

“Caddonfoot Road is still accessible to landowners who still require access and sadly some drivers appear to be deliberately ignoring the no through road signing. This leads them to attempting to drive up the verge to avoid 10 bollards which are in place along the road.

“The Council will erect additional signing to further alert drivers that there is no access to Caddonfoot and also remind pedestrians and cyclists that it is likely that they will encounter motor vehicles on the road.”

Restrictions on Caddonfoot Road came into place in July 2020 as part of the SUSTRANS Spaces for People programme being trialled across the Borders.

This newspaper also contacted Police Scotland for a comment.