CONTRACTORS have been ordered to remove speed humps that cost £150,000 to install because they were found to be too steep.

Council chiefs in Edinburgh spent thousands of pounds on the humps last year, but inspections found that almost one in ten was too steep. Inspectors want the humps to be replaced in case they cause injuries to people in vehicles, resulting in lawsuits. The city council has asked Land Engineering, the contractor, to replace almost 100 humps which they laid .

Council call centres received thousands of complaints about the traffic-calming measures, which motorists claim damage to their cars and aggravate back injuries.

Almost 100 of the 1,500 humps, which were installed to enforce a 20mph speed limit on various streets in the capital, were found to break regulations by being too steep. Workers at Land Engineering, based in Ayrshire, installed 39 speed humps along Duddingston Road, all of which were later found to have been laid incorrectly.

Mechanics have reported a rise in the number of cars with damaged exhausts since the humps were installed.

Keith Rimmer, head of transport at Edinburgh City Council, said that the height of the humps was correct but that they had been built too steeply. “Generally the cushions are to the correct height but not to an acceptable quality,” he explained.

“The side gradients, finished surface and rideability are not acceptable, and I have instructed that they are redone. Residents and the public in general understand the need for these measures, although the arrangement at present often makes it uncomfortable to manoeuvre over. This will be significantly improved when the work is redone.”

Edinburgh’s local authority has one of the best records for accident prevention in Britain. No child has been killed on the capital’s streets for nearly three years.

Ian Berry, a Conservative councillor for Duddingston, said: “People understand that vehicles have to be slowed down, especially near schools, but many feel that these speed cushions are far too severe.

“I have the biggest mailbag I’ve had in many, many years, with an overwhelming number of complaints about this issue. I think a lot of people will be put at ease now that something is finally getting done about the speed bumps in Duddingston but there needs to be a major review across the city and I will demand this from council leader Donald Anderson later this week.”

Gordon Ferguson, a mechanic and assistant manager of Farmer’s Autocare on Piersfield Terrace, said: “We have seen a lot of people recently with steering and exhaust problems. The speed bumps are clearly too steep, and people are having their exhausts knocked when they drive over them, or they find they have problems with their steering alignment.”

A council spokeswoman said: “If we are not satisfied that the installation of traffic-calming measures was carried out to the required standard, we will ask the contractor to rectify this at no additional cost to the council.”

A spokesman for Land Engineering declined to comment.

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