HUNDREDS of vehicles thundering along a main road in Marston is causing homes to shake and shudder, it has been claimed.

Residents along Cherwell Drive have said the number of heavy goods vehicles and cars driving along their street is sending vibrations through their houses.

And one neighbour, Veronica Savage, said it has become so bad that cracks have begun to appear in her walls.

Ms Savage, who has lived in her house in Cherwell Drive since 1964, said she had contacted Oxfordshire County Council to solve the issue, but claimed her attempts had been "fruitless".

The 73-year-old added the condition of the road and the amount of heavy traffic in the area needed to be looked at urgently.

She said: "It's just getting worse. It makes the house shudder and shake every time a heavy vehicle passes.

"I think it's something in the road causing it. It doesn't matter where you are in the house, it even wakes me up during the night.

"It feels like the attic is coming down and cracks have begun to appear in my house."

Ms Savage said she had become fed up with the problem and wanted to see the council restrict the number of HGVs and reduce the speed limit in the road, which is currently a 30mph zone.

Marston councillor Mick Haines said the increase in traffic was a result of people using Cherwell Drive as a "rat run" into Oxford to avoid the ongoing roadworks at the Cutteslowe and Wolvercote roundabouts.

He said: "I think the main thing is to reduce the speed limit. Some of the big lorries go down there far too fast.

"They also need to relay the road. There is a couple of spots which, when that amount of traffic – a lot more than used to – goes down there, it sends vibrations to the houses."

The independent Oxford city councillor recorded a traffic survey of the number of vehicles coming through Marsh Lane to the roundabout next to Cherwell Drive.

On July 7, between 7.30am and 9.30am Mr Haines recorded 1,400 cars, 23 lorries, 10 coaches and 42 motorbikes driving through the area.

Cherwell Drive is part of multi-million plans by Oxfordshire County Council to overhaul roads around Headington.

The junctions around Cherwell Drive are set to be changed and parking spaces in Windmill Road and Headley Way will be removed to make way for cycle lanes in the £12.5m Access to Headington scheme.

But county council spokeswoman Emily Reed said the council was not doing any resurfacing works in Cherwell Drive as part of the proposals.

She was unable to confirm if the council would look at carrying out other maintenance work in the road.