VITAL minutes are being lost and lives put at risk because of traffic chaos on Wey Hill.

HaslemereÕs fire and ambulance crews have claimed that journey times of emergency vehicles are taking longer because of the traffic problems.

A spokesman for Surrey Ambulance, John Lane, told The Herald that Wey Hill was an Òextremely troublesome roadÓ.

And he added that parking on both sides of the road, often by delivery lorries, was making it Òvery difficultÓ for ambulances to travel through the area at high speeds.

ÒIn emergency situations every minute is vital, and if we are delayed lives will obviously be at risk,Ó said Mr Lane.

He declared that as the traffic across the region increased, the ambulance crewsÕ problems in Haslemere were likely to become Òeven worseÓ.

Haslemere firefighter and fire engine driver Mick Kellaway said: ÒRush hours on the road are always a nightmare, but now we are having problems at quieter times, too.Ó

Mr Kellaway points his finger at the sequencing of the traffic lights at Tesco for causing a backlog of traffic up the hill which adds to the problem.

He criticised the response by some drivers to emergency service vehicles.

After Haslemere firefighters were called to an emergency last week, and needed to rush through Wey Hill, Mr Kellaway said he was absolutely appalled by the reaction of some drivers.

ÒIt was around 5 pm- so traffic was very heavy, but a lot of the drivers on this occasion were reacting in completely the wrong way and not letting us get past. I understand people often panic when they hear the sirens, but if they try to remain calm and pull over, we will find a way to get past,Ó he said.

Fortunately, he added, the call-out proved to be a false alarm but important minutes had been added to the journey because of the Wey Hill problems.

ÒBut there are also parking problems on the road which can make it more difficult for other drivers to pull over and let us pass,Ó acknowledged Mr Kellaway.

A consultation about safety improvements for Wey Hill is currently under way, with WaverleyÕs new local committee, made up of county and borough councillors, investing more than £50,000 on the scheme.

The committee has already carried out a survey among the public and local business owners, and is proposing to ask the emergency services for their views next week.

But both Mr Kellaway and Mr Lane agree that some of the proposed improvements, especially the addition of pinchpoints along the road, could make things even more difficult.

ÒWhen traffic is bad the road virtually becomes a one-way system and I think pinchpoints would just increase the congestion. The only real solution I can see is to stop people parking there,Ó said Mr Lane.

Mr Kellaway said: ÒPinchpoints will cause traffic tailbacks and make our lives even more difficult. We need to be able to get through that area safely at high speeds and I donÕt think pinchpoints would help us to do that.Ó

Surrey County CouncilÕs principal traffic engineer for Waverley, Tracey Webb, who is co-ordinating the Wey Hill safety scheme, said she will look into the problem.

She suggested short-term measures could be taken to improve the road, such as preventing people from parking in certain areas, but added she would need to investigate the situation before any definite proposals could be announced.

ÒThe consultation for the safety scheme is in its final stages, and we will be meeting a police officer who represents all of the emergency services within the next few days. We should get a better picture of our options after that meeting,Ó said Miss Webb.

Meanwhile, Mr Kellaway suggested the English changed their ÒsoftÓ approach towards drivers who did not pull over when emergency vehicles were trying to get past.

ÒIn Germany drivers who do not pull-over get heavily fined. But, as with so much in this country, it will probably take lives being lost before anything is done to solve the problem,Ó he concluded.