Residents say drivers are treating roads around their housing estate like Brands Hatch racetrack and have grave fears over inefficient anti-speeding measures.

Directors of the Darenth Village Park management team, Elliot Joesph and James Karat, have been lobbying Kent County Council (KCC) for better safety measures to be put in place before a "tragic accident" happens and say animals are being killed on a daily basis.

James Karat explains the speeding issue

Elliot, who lives in Darenth Park Avenue in Dartford, where the pair have reported the most incidents of hit animal such as squirrels, foxes and dogs, said: "They are not speed bumps. They are a complete waste of time. You could do 60mph over them and not notice.

"It is a housing estate, people should not be speeding. It is not good enough."

Residents were successful in having the speed limit reduced to 20mph in April this year after campaigns but they say this is mostly ignored by drivers.

Now they are hoping new speed bumps will be installed which cover the width of the road and are more prominent so drivers are forced to reduce their speed.

A KCC spokesman said: "We are aware of the concerns raised by Mr Joseph and Mr Karat about safety in Darenth Park Avenue.

"Officers have been working extensively on behalf of local residents and in partnership with the parish council to understand how best to address the issues raised, most recently by introducing a 20mph speed limit.

"While we are not responsible for poor driver behaviour, we are committed to conducting further traffic and safety assessments to better understand if anything further can be done."

The estate, which is a narrow road with multiple priority passing points with speed bumps, used to be quiet according to James who moved in more than 20 years ago when it was first built.

Yet now it is being used as a cut-through when traffic in the area builds, he says.

Elliot also claims when accidents in the Dartford tunnel or on the A2 occur, traffic quickly begins to build up around the estate with many taking diverted routes through the road but drivers are not slowing down.

James has even lost a pet cat after it was hit by an oncoming car. He added: "If people are going at a sensible speed they would have spotted animals. It does happen often."

Co-director James, who lives on the estate in Powell Avenue, said: "It is a country park. Everybody is completely fed up with it.

"We are constantly having to pick up and bury wildlife hit by speeding motorists.

"We live on a country park, with wildlife some people very rarely see. It is a site of a scheduled ancient monument and the site of ancient Saxon burials and yet it's like Brands Hatch around here."

They have expressed their concerns that if something is not done there may be a "tragic accident".