SPEEDING motorists are forcing Hollywater residents to consider selling off their own homes, a town councillor claimed this week.
Geraldine Meeson told The Herald that one family were already leaving because of the traffic issue and that more could follow suit.
On top of this, abusive drivers are also making residents' lives a misery when confronted about the speed at which they are travelling.
Last Friday, Ms Meeson said that she was the victim of a verbal attack when a motorist swore at her in front of her young grandchild.
She explained that as she was walking down the section of Hollywater Road in between Walldown Road and Liphook Road, with her six-year-old grandchild and her dog, she saw a motorist speeding towards her at 60 mph.
She signalled to the driver to slow down as she believed he was going too fast but instead he got out of his car and swore at her - saying that he had done nothing wrong as the national speed limit applied to the rural road.
"He got out of his car and asked me 'why did I slow him down'," the councillor said.
"He said that the speed limit down that road was 60 mph and that he could go down there at 60 mph if he liked.
"It is ridiculous - people think that just because the speed limit is 60 mph that it is appropriate to travel at 60 mph."
Ms Meeson said that after the man swore at her, he got into his car and speed off "leaving tyre tracks on the road".
The Whitehill town councillor told The Herald that the incident was just the latest which is making the lives of residents "a misery".
She said: "Some people are using the stretch between the crossroads and the pub as a racetrack. People feel like prisoners in their own homes."
Ms Meeson also added that residents had already started to leave the area because of the traffic and speed problems in Hollywater, and feared that more people would follow suit.
"Many no longer feel that their children are safe."
Whitehill Town Council is continuing to campaign for a reduction in the speed limit down Hollywater Road.