A traffic island outside a church is causing traffic chaos, a concerned resident says.

Malcolm Whitwell, of Whittlesey, says a traffic island was installed last week in Ramsey Road, Whittlesey, between the Letter B pub and St Andrew’s Church, where the church congregation park for services and where people park to attend weddings and funerals.

He said: “It’s going to be impossible to park there now. I have spoken to several people who knew nothing about it. I spoke to a woman leaving the church the other day and she was flabbergasted by it.

“Whenever a lorry comes along, there is a bottleneck. It’s a ridiculous situation.

“I think it was put in to protect half drunk people coming out of the Letter B pub. It’s not worth the disruption.”

However, the traffic island has received the backing of St Andrew’s Church Rector Nigel Whitehouse, who says it will improve the safety of pedestrians.

He said: “A lot of drivers drive too fast on that road so this will make it safer for pedestrians and improve access to the church.

“There were double yellow lines so people couldn’t park there anyway. Hearses and wedding cars used to park there, so they will have to park further down the road, but we don;t anticipate that to be a problem.”

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesman said: “This was a safety scheme requested and agreed by the town council which has been jointly funded by them and the county council.

“The road is very narrow in this area and there has been reports of vehicles mounting the pavements, endangering pedestrians as well as damaging property or clipping one another.

“The build out is designed to help improve safety and slow vehicles down.

“The church was consulted and a representative confirmed to our officer their support for the scheme.

“Further work, including signs and lines are due to be put in place and we will continue to monitor the situation.”