BBC
Betty Norbury said she was lying in bed with her husband one night when a car crashed into their home
After Betty Norbury bought her home on a busy road, neighbours warned her there had been eight accidents nearby in the last 15 years.
There have been two “near fatal” crashes in the village in the last 18 months, including one that damaged the wall of her house.
She and other residents in Talerddig near Carno in Powys, say they have long called for safety measures to be put in place, including reducing the speed limit from 60mph to 40mph.
The Welsh government said it was working with Powys Council to carry out a speed survey on the A470.
Mrs Norbury said she was concerned because her house is on a bend at the end of a long straight section of the A470 – one of the main roads in mid-Wales.
She spoke of one incident when she and her husband were lying in bed when a car hit the house and “then bounced and ended up across the road”.
Mrs Norbury spoke of another crash in which the driver was “lucky to be able to walk away”.
“We’re so lucky that we haven’t had more incidents than we’ve had,” she said.
Betty Norbury said residents had called for changes to the road but felt ignored
Peter Lamb, who lives nearby, also had his property damaged in a separate incident in September 2025 when a driver lost control of their vehicle and smashed into a crash barrier on his property.
He said it happened at about 21:00 at night in heavy rain.
“There was a large bang – he’s obviously lost control and hit our barriers. He was a very lucky lad, I think. It could have been far worse,” he said.
“We got him out, and he came and sat in the garage, and we made sure he was all right, and waited for the police to arrive.”
Peter said he would like to see the speed limit there lowered to 40mph.
This crash on the road took place before Betty Norbury bought her house
Mrs Norbury said neighbours had been raising concerns since 2009, and she had written to the council, Welsh government and Dyfed-Powys Police, but said residents are “still ignored”.
“I think that we need some serious traffic restrictions on this road,” she said, calling for “flashing lights” that would slow drivers down.
“If you travel along this road through the little hamlets and villages, there are speed restrictions. There is nothing for Talerddig, nothing at all.
“We don’t even have a sign of an adult holding the hand of a child to say that there are children about. We don’t have pavements, we don’t have lighting, we don’t have speed restrictions.
“It’s insanity,” she said, adding she was concerned there could be a fatal accident.
Neighbour Pete Lamb also had damage done to his property following a crash
Concerns have also been raised about the safety of school children who walk on the road on their way to and from the bus stop.
Heledd Edwards, 16, who lives in Talerddig, said she has to walk about 500 yards to her house along the road without any pavements.
“It’s busy especially at rush hour when we come off the bus. You pull in to the side hoping the cars will give you room, but sometimes the cars just pass you and it does make you question how safe it is,” she said.
People living in Talerddig also say there is no speed limit sign on the small ‘C class’ road that runs through the village, and that drivers are often travelling too quickly on the road after leaving the A470.
Community councillor Ifan Edwards, who lives next to the junction between the A470 and the ‘C class’ road, said: “We definitely need 30mph or even 20 going through the village here, just to protect the pedestrians. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt and it’s something we need to avoid.”
A spokesperson for Powys Council said: “Given the nature of this C road, vehicle speeds are unlikely to be excessive. From data available to the council shows the 85th percentile speed on this road as being 21mph. The introduction of a 20mph limit here is not likely to have any impact on speeds as they are already suitable controlled by the alignment of the road.”
In relation to the concerns about speed on the A470 near Talerdding, a spokesperson for the Welsh government said: “We are working with Powys County Council to carry out a speed survey on the A470. The survey is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks and will help determine if a reduction to the speed limit is required.”
