Residents in a remote Croxley Green road fear they are being ignored by highways authorities after appeals to rectify a "dangerous" road surface have fallen on deaf ears.

Members of Gade Bank Residents Association say they have appealed to Hertfordshire Highways on numerous occasions for mud to be cleared off Rousebarn Lane but nothing has been done for two years.

Recently one Gade Bank resident, Pete Paine, discovered 69-year-old Roy Lawton of Dover Way who had fallen on the road and severely broken his leg.

Mr Paine, 52, said: "I first raised this as a problem on October 29.

"The council have done nothing and have never given this any attention. We feel a little bit neglected in all of this.

"This must be the dirtiest road in Croxley.

"I put it down as a safety issue after Roy broke his leg but that didn’t change anything."

The road crosses between Watford and Three Rivers and residents say they have contacted both authorities as well as the county council and the police in the hope of getting a resolution.

Bob Robson, 72, said: "The lane is Three Rivers but the bridge is Watford and we end up being mucked about.

"One guy came down but said there was no evidence of any real danger."

Residents believe the mud may have come from vehicles travelling to and from a nearby building site although a county council investigation said it could find no evidence of this.

Towards the end of last year, the residents’ association filed a complaint with Hertfordshire County Council about their lack of action between October and December 2012.

A Hertfordshire County Council official who investigated the complaint said a response crew from the council’s contractor visited the road on October 30 and found mud on the carriageway.

This was identified as a possible danger to motorcyclists and the carriageway was swept by a mechanical sweeper.

The next month crews returned to investigate another report of mud on the carriageway but said the situation was not hazardous and the mud had been washed from banks either side of the road.

General street cleaning is the responsibility of the district council but the official acknowledges they were not alerted in this case.

A further visit in December identified mud down the centre of the carriageway but the crew sent to the road believed it had been caused by heavy rain the previous evening.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: "We are aware of this issue and our contractor, Ringway, will be dealing with this on our behalf. Residents are encouraged to report any highway problems to us on www.hertsdirect.org/highwayfaults or 0300 123 4047."