‘People are terrified walking through our lovely village. Something has to change’

People living in the village say ‘enough is enough’ and called on the Welsh Government to take action

08:32, 31 May 2026

People living in a small Monmouthshire village say “dangerous” road conditions have left people “terrified”. They say they have “had enough” after years of speeding traffic, repeated collisions and a “lack of safety measures” on one of Wales’ busiest trunk roads.

The A4042 cuts directly through the village of Llanellen, carrying heavy traffic between the Heads of the Valleys, Abergavenny, Pontypool and Newport. For locals, however, the road has become more than an inconvenience – they say it has become a danger to daily life.

Local resident Sioned Yates has lived in the village for six years and described Llanellen as a “lovely” place to live, but claims that the situation on the trunk road has steadily worsened.

“I think it’s been an ongoing issue not only for Llanellen but also Llanover,” she told WalesOnline. “The concerns around the trunk road aren’t new. It’s been on the agenda for many, many years. But I’ve lived here for six years now, and even in that time we’ve seen a significant increase in both the volume of traffic and the speed of traffic.”

Residents claim to have witnessed repeated collisions, dangerous speeding and near misses, while they say little has been done to improve safety. “We’ve seen consistent collisions, speeding, and there have been no traffic calming measures at all,” Sioned said. “We’re always told because it’s a trunk road, it’s owned by the Welsh Government rather than the local authority.”

Frustration in the community reached a breaking point following a collision on May 7 – the same day as the Senedd election. According to residents, the crash near Llanellen’s notorious humpback bridge resulted in one vehicle smashing through a wall and into a woman’s garden.

Sioned said that this is not the first time such an incident has occurred. “The lady who lives there is 80 years old and her wall has been demolished four times from crashes,” she claimed.

“What got me was when my husband and I came back from boating, I saw her standing in the front of a lawn looking at this wall that’s been completely taken out, and she’s just in tears.

“We went over to console her. And she just said, ‘Yesterday, I was only potting plants in front of that wall.’ It was just heartbreaking that she has gone through it so many times and nothing has changed or come of it.”

Gwent Police confirmed that a collision involving two vehicles occurred on the A4042 and no serious injuries were reported. Officers also made clear that there were no offences identified, including speeding.

Regardless, the collision has sparked fresh calls for traffic calming measures, with the bridge itself becoming a major source of concern. Residents claim the blind corner and narrow structure are unsuitable for the volume and size of vehicles now using the route, particularly large HGVs.

“There’s been consistent accidents on the humpback bridge,” Sioned said. “You’ve got massive artic vehicles coming across and it simply can’t handle two-way traffic safely.”

Despite years of complaints, locals insist they are not asking for expensive major infrastructure projects.

“There’s been talk in the past about building a new road and diverting Llanellen altogether, and that would cost millions,” Sioned said. “We understand that. But what we’re asking for is simple – we want the authorities to actually take notice and introduce basic traffic calming measures.”

Among the measures residents want considered are speed reductions, crossings, signage and better enforcement. However, locals say even attempts to monitor speeding have been rejected.

Sioned claims that residents had previously requested temporary speed monitoring equipment and police enforcement checks. However she said they were told that the road was considered too dangerous for officers to safely operate roadside speed guns or pull vehicles over.

“That says a lot to me,” Sioned said. “It basically feels like people can speed as much as they want because nobody can safely monitor it.” Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter

She added: “If the police themselves are saying it’s unsafe to stand by the road and carry out speed checks, then surely that tells you everything you need to know about how dangerous this road is.”

WalesOnline reached out to Gwent Police to verify this, but were told that the issue fell under the responsibility of Go Safe, who were also contacted for comment.

For pedestrians, residents say conditions are equally alarming. There is currently no safe crossing over the humpback bridge, despite homes, a village hall, a shop and bus stops being split across either side of the road.

On top of this, the road currently carries a 40mph speed limit through the village, including over the blind humpback bridge. “You’re allowed to drive at 40 miles an hour over a blind corner where people are crossing the road,” she said. “There’s a shop there, there’s the village hall, homes on both sides – and people can’t even comfortably walk across.”

“There’s no zebra crossing, no traffic lights,” Sioned said. “People are terrified walking there. My children were expected at one point to cross the road to catch the bus in the morning, and I refused to allow it because it’s too dangerous.”

Residents acknowledge that some motorists will always ignore speed limits, but believe most drivers would comply if proper safety measures were introduced. “I’m not naïve enough to think nobody will speed,” Sioned added. “But I think most people would adhere to sensible limits if something was actually put in place.”

In light of this, residents will be having a meeting at their village hall at 6pm on Monday, June 1 to discuss the concerns being raised and the wider public interest surrounding road safety through the village.

For many in Llanellen, the message is now simple: enough promises, enough delays and enough near-tragedies. They say they are no longer asking for perfection – only for action before somebody loses their life.

The Welsh Government said: “We take road safety seriously and understand concerns regarding speeds and collisions on the A4042 at Llanellen.

“We are waiting for data on the recent incidents, but existing evidence does not support the need for extra intervention. We will continue to monitor conditions and undertake a new speed survey this financial year.”