IT IS only a matter of time before a befuddled motorist driving the wrong way down a one-way street could hit a child, it has been claimed.

Theobald Street man Peter O’Shaughnessy says the problem of drivers ignoring no-entry signs on the town centre road is on the rise.

The former bus driver, 66, has called on the council to install better signage along Faringdon Road warning drivers they cannot turn left into Theobald Street.

He told the Adver: “There are a lot of children. My concern is one day someone’s going to get knocked down.”

Mr O’Shaughnessy has lived on Theobald Street for the last three decades and has known the one-way system to be in place for all that time.

That system prevents drivers turning into the street from Faringdon Road. Anyone wanting to access Theobald Street must do so by turning from the main road onto Maxwell Street then Tennyson Street.

Mr O’Shaughnessy said: “Over the last four or five years we’ve had more and more people turning into this street.

“I’m 66-years-old, I’m semi-retired and I’m at home quite a lot. I can guarantee you that every day you will see at least five or six vehicles coming in the wrong way. Some of the them are driving quite fast.”

He had previously come across professional drivers, including cabbies and deliverymen, going the wrong way down the street.

They included one delivery driver who, told by Mr O’Shaughnessy that Theobald Street had a one-way system, was said to have laughed: “He wasn’t going to back down.”

He said he had previously contacted the council to ask them about the problem, but was told that existing signage was adequate.

Mr O’Shaugnessy said: “If you had adequate signage you wouldn’t have all these people turning in.”

He suggested the council should install extra signs along Faringdon Road and repaint the no entry wording on the asphalt at the turning into Theobald Street.

“I’m sure that would improve it,” he added.

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “We haven’t received official reports of cars driving the wrong way on Theobald Street, but we are happy to review the signage to see what can be done.”

Ignoring road signs like no-entry signs can find drivers slapped with a fine or even prosecuted for driving without due care and attention. Those convicted of careless driving can be fined and potentially banned from getting behind the wheel.