"If people want to keep their cut-through they have to stand up and be counted".

That is the message to Upton residents after the rear entrance to Hanley Road car park remains closed, cutting off a traffic-busting link between the road and the town centre.

The car park acts as an unofficial link between Hanley Road and New Street Lane, in the town centre, meaning motorists do not have to travel through the high street to enter, or exit, the town.

It has been used as a shortcut for many years by motorists.

However, Malvern Hills District Council has closed the entrance due to safety concerns as it is claimed drivers have been speeding through the car park.

A spokeswoman for Upton Town Council said: "We want to see it open again, and so do residents. “It's a very handy cut-through.

"If people want to keep their cut-through they have to stand up and be counted.

"If the district council don't receive complaints, they will think nothing is wrong with it. We need residents to tell them they want it open again."

Sandra Hudson, estates and facilities manager for Malvern Hills District Council, said: “We took the decision to close the New Street entrance at the end of September.

"This was following three incidents in which our Civil Enforcement Officers were almost hit by speeding vehicles using the car park as an unofficial cut through.

"It’s important to remember this is a car park and was never intended to be used as a public road. While we will listen carefully to feedback from the public, the safety of our staff and those using the car park is the most important thing to us."

It is claimed the closure is causing traffic build up in New Street, which has cars parks available on either side of the road.

"With it being closed, people are going down New Street but then having to turn around there which can be a real pain as it's a tight road which can only fit one car through it at a time, with vehicles parked either side of the road.

"Some home owners along New Street are having cars turn round on the property, because of the narrowness of it, and it happens regularly throughout the morning.

"Coming out of the junction at New Street is tricky because visibility isn't very good, so more and more cars coming through the road is making driving through the town more difficult. It was a very well used cut through.

"Yes, there are some cars that drive dangerously through it, (the car park) but it's a very low number and this just punishes everyone.

"The town council would like to see speeding drivers prosecuted and the issue tackled properly, not just closing the rear entrance and tarring every motorist with the same brush" the spokeswoman said.

The council is urging residents to write to the district council and express their views.