FED-UP families are hoping a petition will stop a half-marathon blighting their lives every year.

Run to the Beat has been going for five years, with competitors making their way around a circuit from The O2, through Charlton and across the area, soundtracked by booming music.

But after last year’s event, which was criticised for poor communication about road closures, one Charlton mum-of-two says she has had enough of being "encircled" by the course and wants the Secretary of State for Transport to intervene over the route.

Annie Keys, 36, of The Heights, said: "Every year it encircles the whole of Greenwich and Charlton and blocks us off.

"It has been asked many times to look again at the route, making it a straight run or going around the park.

"But every year it’s still the same."

The former councillor lost her patience after being blocked in again last year and struggling to take her children to a birthday party in Lewisham.

Her petition complains the bus service stops, cars are blocked in and even Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich is affected by road closures.

She said: "I think we've got to the point where, after five years asking and being ignored, they haven't showed a duty of care towards the people living in this area.

"Really, what benefits does it bring to us?"

She added: "Let’s have a look at the route, the transport links and the benefits this event could have to the community."

After last year’s event, organisers IMG were criticised by Greenwich Council’s cabinet member for community safety and environment Councillor Maureen O’Mara over road closures.

She told fellow councillors: "If residents say ‘we don’t want it’ then we’ll have to talk to IMG about that."

A Run to the Beat spokesman said: “We are continually looking to develop the effectiveness of our communications with local residents and the various authorities.

"We are in the process of finalising some of the important detail and will be able to confirm this in due course."

To sign the petition, visit the website