“IF THIS goes ahead, someone will be killed” – that is the claim made by residents who fear thousands of lorries a year travelling past their houses to a golf club earmarked for expansion.

At a special meeting on Tuesday, the residents – who live in the Queenswood Drive and Hampden Road area of Hitchin – talked about their concerns for plans at Letchworth Golf Club.

The club, based in Letchworth Lane, wants to expand its facilities – something residents say they do not have a problem with.

However, there are concerns over the route lorries will take to get to the club, via residents’ homes, and the number of lorry movements – estimated to be about 130 daily for 18 months.

Fears were also raised over schoolchildren walking to school being endangered by the HGVs, prompting residents to urge the golf club to come up with another route.

One resident at the meeting, who did not wish to be named, said: “You only need to have one accident – and it could be too late.

Someone could be killed.”

Those at the meeting, who said they would oppose the expansion by continuing to petition and compile accident statistics, also said lorries would cause congestion in the town.

And parent Silvana Penfold, who said she moved to the area because it was clean, claimed it would cause problems for her family’s health.

“I’m asthmatic, my son’s asthmatic. It’s going to be unbearable,” she said.

“My son has got glue ear and is partially deaf. Whenever there’s noise, he has to put his hands over his ears.”

Residents were also angry that they weren’t being offered compensation or reward for the disruption.

“One thing that did occur to me is a sense of surprise that the golf club didn’t offer anything to the community in lieu of the damage they will cause to us,” said resident Sue Armstrong Brown.

Cllr Ray Shakespeare Smith, who was at the meeting, told residents he and fellow Walsworth councillors would be putting in objections before the application is decided later next month.

And Herts County Council, to which the application was submitted, has extended the consultation date by one week.