Motorists are being warned against abusing the temporary lifting of access restrictions to High Street in Abergavenny.

Abergavenny police say they will come down hard on drivers who are parking illegally and driving carelessly on High Street, commonly known by residents as Red Square, which has been made available for access during the closure of Market Street for renovations to a building on the street.

A Monmouthshire County Council spokesman said, "Both MCC and the property owner recognised that the closure of Market Street would cause inconvenience and disruption to traffic but the condition of the building made the road closure inevitable for safety reasons."

Diversions have been put in place on Monk Street and other nearby roads, but many residents are choosing to ignore these routes and driving directly through High Street, causing a danger to pedestrians.

Community Support Officer, Amanda Yung said, "There are signs on Cross Street that state that Market Street is closed. Despite this motorists are continuing to drive up through High Street, which has remained open for deliveries and for those using the disabled bays on Upper Cross Street."

One elderly woman was clipped by a car wing mirror and had her walking stick knocked by a vehicle, and there have been reports of cars honking at and being abusive to those who are walking on the road.

A member of staff at Shackletons on Nevill Street told The Chronicle she also was clipped by a car wing mirror on her way into work.

"If I had been an elderly person it could have done a lot of damage. It is ridiculous to have this happening over half term, especially on Tuesday market days as there are so many people around," she said.

Responding to such incidents, PCSO Yung said, "We will not tolerate dangerous driving on High Street and measures will be taken to stop people who are. The most important thing is the safety of the pedestrians, especially children, the elderly and disabled people."

MCC has put traffic calming measures in place to ensure vehicles travel slowly through the street, as pedestrians might not anticipate the additional vehicles there.

The council has also now issued 'slow' signs to be placed on Upper Cross Street, High Street and Nevill Street, and has put temporary speed bumps on the road to force drivers to reduce their speed. They will stay there until Market Street re-opens.

MCC highways staff installed the bumps, with the work and materials totalling around £500, but some people feel these speed bumps could be more of a danger than they are worth.

Kazryel Bolwell, 25, from Abergavenny said, "The speed bumps are more of a hindrance. Elderly people or children could fall over them. They may not have cost a lot, but they are still an unnecessary spend."

Another concern is that many drivers are now parking their cars on the street to do their shopping.

Six parking tickets have been issued already, and PCSO Yung says that police officers will be on the look out for those who are breaking the law in this way.

"We will be making very effort to stop people parking, and doing extra checks alongside our regular patrols to ensure that people who are parking here are caught and penalised," she said.

Bollards have been placed by Boots the Chemist on Upper Cross Street to restrict people from parking there and blocking the road.

Gwent and Abergavenny Police will be having weekly meetings to assess the progress and safety levels on the road until the building work is complete and Market Street is re-opened.

The scheme was originally expected to last four weeks, but now many people are concerned that the works are likely to take longer.

The council says this additional time might be necessary due to the fact that the building is listed and the contractor needs to source suitable materials.

The MCC spokesman added,"We are in discussion with the property owner and are aware that every effort is being made to complete the works within the original four-week period but we acknowledge that it may be necessary for the closure to be extended if repairs can't be completed within that time."