BRIDPORT is a market town 'and if you kill the market, people will stop coming.’

That is the view of one resident and business owner who captured these images of a lorry driver struggling to get down Gundry Lane – before a decision on plans for the trial closure of South Street has even been made.

The row over the possible trial pedestrianisation of South Street, which would see the road closed to traffic between the junction of Gundry lane and the town hall, rages on, with the results of a public consultation expected next week.

Bridport Town Council put forward the proposals, which could take effect next spring subject to the results of the consultation and permission from Dorset County Council.

Concerns have been raised that closing the street could add to existing traffic problems across the town. Business owner Chris Neaves, who runs Cloud 9 Studio on Gundry Lane, agrees, and fears he will have to close the gallery should the trial closure go ahead.

He took the photos ,which show a lorry driver struggling to turn their vehicle down the lane, and says it is not an uncommon sight.

“We are in a position to see things as and when they happen on Gundry Lane,” said Mr Neaves. “I know someone on the corner has had damage to their building a few times. It's not practical.

“My biggest gripe is that we have very little footfall here and with the extra traffic coming this way due to the closure, nobody is going to stop. I will have to close. It is a shame, and I hope it doesn’t come to that, but we’re a small business.

“I can’t see any reasoning behind it. I think they want to make it more cosmopolitan but you can’t just close the street for the few times we have nice weather. I don’t see any positives to it.

“I have raised the issues and I know a lot of the market traders are also against this. We’re a market town and if you kill the market, people will stop coming here.”

A consultation in 2001 found that more than 60 per cent of residents supported the selective closure of South Street on market days, but that a number of traders, mostly from South Street, opposed a closure.

Former Bridport mayor Carol Murless says she intends to start a petition should the town council proceed with the plans.

"Gundry Lane is a narrow lane and it's not designed for the volume of traffic it will get," said Mrs Murless. "I here screeching from brakes all the time from my garden - it's very, very dangerous and I'm sure there will be an accident. It's not practical and it's not safe. It's just horrifying."