'We live under a motorway - we can't open our windows or sit in our garden'

Residents living under a busy motorway have shared their experiences of dealing with the constant noise, litter and lack of sunlight. A number of people who have homes directly beneath Bristol's M32 and M5 flyovers at Avonmouth Docks have spoken about the challenges they face daily.

Some locals have claimed they can't even open their windows or sit in their gardens thanks to traffic noise, items falling from above and the dominating presence of the bridge structures.

Jackie Payne, 66, who has been a resident of Avonmouth for five years, admits regretting her decision to live under the motorway. "We want to move somewhere quieter. We can't open the windows because you can't hear the TV," she said.

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"I have got about six fans in the front room because it gets so hot. When the lorries hit a particular drain it makes such a noise.

"We can't sit in the garden because you can hear it and hear the lorries all day - it gets on my nerves. I come from a village and I would go out into my garden and all you could hear was the cows mooing."

Jackie said the bridge did pose its own problems. She said: "It blocks the sun to the front room and we get litter in the garden. I am always worried that a lorry will crash through the barrier."

Philip Jacobs, 84, moved to his home in Avonmouth when he was just eight years old - before plans for the M5 bridge had even been tabled.

He said: "I was here when it was built. They built it in sections. I was doing shift work as a lorry driver at the time, often working at night, and the noise was unbelievable - I couldn't get any sleep."

Philip, who still lives in the property with his