People living near a busy main road today spoke of their fears that roadworks could lead to deaths.

Neighbours in Withdean Crescent and Varndean Gardens say changes to the layout of London Road and the streets feeding on to it place pedestrians in peril.

A new bus and cycle lane have been added to the road, part of the A23 route into Brighton from the north, which the council says will slow down traffic and make the area safer.

But residents who live in the streets leading into London Road from either side say the finished work will have the opposite effect.

They say they have been told Brighton and Hove City Council will not consider undoing the work until someone is killed. They are appealing for the new layout to be scrapped.

Denise Pritchard, 42, of Withdean Crescent, said: "The reason they gave us for doing the work was safety but I don't believe that. You only have to stand there for five minutes to see how dangerous it is.

"Now people have to cross more lanes of traffic and there is no longer an island in the middle for them to wait at.

"They said they have done it to slow down the traffic but speed has never been an issue. Now they have made it so much more difficult for traffic."

Ms Pritchard said her god-daughter Anna Mayer, 17, had waited for 20 minutes to cross the road safely.

Campaigners have collected 340 signatures on a petition against the new layout.

Ms Pritchard said the council had underestimated the strength of feeling among residents. She said: "There has been no trouble collecting signatures. Everyone said, 'Yes, yes, where can I sign?'.

"In the past work around Brighton and Hove has been done and people have made a fuss but it has died down again.

"But people are not going to shut up about this. The council have got to realise that."

Withdean Rise has been closed permanently, forcing residents to drive through Tongdean Lane to get to their houses. Val Staveley, 50, of Withdean Rise, said her rubbish had not been collected because the lorries were too wide to drive up Tongdean Lane when cars were parked at the bottom.

She fears that in an emergency a fire engine would not be able to get to the houses.

She is angry residents were not properly consulted about the proposed changes and said: "No one even realised it was going to be closed permanently until I asked a workman and he told me the road would not be re-opening.

"We have not been given any chance to oppose this decision.

"The council says it put up notices on lamp posts but no one has seen any. We just wanttit reopened it as it was."

Councillor Ken Norman, who represents Withdean ward where the work is being carried out, said the scheme raised several safety problems and he was worried accidents would happen if the layout was not changed.

He said: "We have met with officers several times and all protests have been pushed aside as if residents and ward councillors don't mean anything.

"The central reservations have been taken away and it means a certain number of pedestrian crossings have been lost.

"They are putting in four pedestrian crossings but in different places to the previous ones.

"There are a lot of elderly people and it will mean they have to walk further to get to them.

"Therefore they are going to attempt to cross the road where there is no crossing.

"Although it has been said there has been public consultation there has not been quite enough with the people who live on either side of this road.

"The whole scheme is nearly complete now, so I don't know what we can do."

A council spokeswoman denied only a serious accident would force a re-think, adding: "We are looking at modifying the scheme. There are to be more improvements to the junction of Tongdean Lane, Withdean Rise and London Road."