A junction where a man was killed by a hit and run driver has been condemned as “ridiculous” by neighbours.

An unidentified man in his early 50s was killed in the early hours of Saturday morning after being struck by a car at the junction of Latchford Place and Romford Road in Chigwell.

The car failed to stop and the man, whose family has been informed, was pronounced dead at 3.46am.

Residents living close to the scene said drivers often accelerate after passing 40mph cameras on Romford Road.

Kay Shadrack, of Manford Way, Chigwell, said: “They come round too quickly, especially late in the evening because they think nobody is about.

“I am often up at night and I stand at the window, sometimes they cut the corner right off, they fly round there.

“They think it is not going to cause any harm.”

At least three serious accidents at the junction have been reported in recent years, including a crash in 2007 that killed David Glass, a 44-year-old motorcyclist from Abridge.

People from Latchford Place, including Susan Butler, 62, have raised safety concerns with the council.

She said: “A little while after the motorcyclist was hit, a young man broke his back in a terrible car accident.

“We actually tried to get some barriers in because we have had them come through the hedge and the car stopped just at my daughter’s house.

“Something has got to be done, it really has.”  

She added that a new public footpath on the other side of the dual-carriageway was encouraging pedestrians to cross at a dangerous point.

She said: “There is a safe crossing down the road, why put that footpath there?

“If you see people crossing this road, it is ridiculous, so ridiculous.”

The police are hoping to speak to the driver of a Volkswagen Touareg or other model, or any mechanics who have been approached by a driver with windscreen damage in the area.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 020 8597 4874, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.