TRANSPORT chiefs may be forced to do a u-turn after residents called for new railings in a Stourbridge street to be removed after they were put in out of the blue.

Metal railings were installed in Beale Street in the Old Quarter last Thursday (February 19) much to the annoyance of residents who park partly on the pavement to ensure emergency vehicles can access the congested residential street.

Resident Ken Moore, who swiftly started a petition to get the guard rails removed, said an eight-metre section of barrier was put up without consultation - and workmen told him a further 16-metre stretch of pavement had also been earmarked for barriers.

He said the railings put in to date had already cut parking spaces for people living in the car-clogged street and any more would "would disrupt life in the street and likely cause social problems".

Dudley Council's traffic manager Peter Vangeersdaele said the guard rails were erected "to dissuade residents from parking obstructively" as refuse lorries had been struggling to access the street to collect rubbish bins.

Conservative ward councillor Nic Barlow said he had not been notified in advance about the problem or the intention to install railings.

A council spokesman confirmed transport bosses had given the go ahead for the railings to be installed, at a cost of £360, to help tackle the problem with the bin lorries.

But after hearing residents' concerns - Dudley's cabinet member for transportation, Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, said he would be "happy" to look at the matter again.

He said: "We had initially been looking to provide two short lengths of guard railings on Beale Street.

"However, following concerns from local residents after a small part of this work was carried out, we have stopped this work and we are now reviewing the decision to put these railings in.

"We will now be consulting with local ward councillors before establishing the most suitable way forward.”

He said the council was also intending to paint white H-bar markings in Beale Street, and in West Street and Wheeler Street, to highlight access points to properties and pedestrian dropped kerbs - after concerns about access were raised.