A GROUP of residents who protested against plans by Crossrail to dig up their private alleyway have won their fight.

The residents, in Fendyke Road, Abbey Wood, use the alleyway to access to their garages as they have no parking facilities in front of their homes.

Letters from Crossrail informed them it intended to dig trial pits in their alleyway to test the soil conditions.

The Crossrail Act, given Royal Assent last summer, gives the company the right to enter private land to dig trial pits or remove soil.

But now resident Ray Arnold says they have been told Crossrail has now bought a house in nearby Florence Road, which it intends to use for its trial pits.

Mr Arnold said: “Crossrail says it is consulting local people, but it isn’t.

“We have now discovered the trains will use overhead electric lines, so when we look out of our windows we will see the gantries for the electricity lines.

“And the trains will be nearer our homes.”

He added: “I don’t want to stop the project, but we will not get any benefit. Things will just be made worse for us.”