BUSES are being driven along pavements to bypass queuing traffic putting pedestrians at risk and causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage, it is claimed.

A number of buses are reportedly being driven along the pavement for several hundred yards because traffic queuing towards the Petts Hill Bridge, near Northolt, is overlapping into the bus lane.

Linda Koupparis, chair of the Danemead and Petts Hill Residents Association, angrily claims that the buses have caused significant damage to the pavement and people are slipping on mud trying to cross the road.

She said: "Only the other morning there was another accident when a young mother slipped with her baby, trying to cross the large mud bank that has accumulated from Newmarket Avenue to the end of the bus lane at Danemead Grove due to the incapacity of road space taken up by the bus lanes, and drivers of the buses who really do not care.

"Perhaps they (Transport for London) are waiting for some person just to slip under a bus and get killed trying to step over the mud bank, Then they may think oh we must do something'."

The queuing traffic is the result of ongoing £4.32million road improvements to ease the bottleneck at the bridge which is being funded by TfL in conjunction with Ealing and Harrow councils and Network Rail.

Traffic has been reduced to a single lane from all directions to the bridge causing huge tailbacks and continued misery for residents.

Mrs Koupparis added: "The morale of people who live here is so low, there are no words to describe what we face day in and day out and now we will be faced with a huge bill for repairing the damaged pavement."

Ealing Council confirmed it was aware of the damage to the pavements caused by the buses and have alerted TfL.

Peter Tonkin, principal transport planner at Ealing Council, said: "We don't condone buses being driven over the kerb and onto the grass verge.

"Metroline has instructed its drivers to hold back rather than go over the kerb.

"It have assured us it will continue to remind drivers of this."

He added temporary barriers are being installed to stop buses mounting the pavement and pavements will be repaired as a first priority.

The grass will also be restored and this will be funded from the money allocated by TfL for the scheme as well as utilities companies that are carrying out the current works at the bridge.

TfL did not contact the Times with its response before the newspaper went to press.