A "rat run" road in Isleworth is to be closed by Hounslow Council, which said drivers using it as a cut-through had "blighted" residents' lives for decades.

Up to two-thirds of peak-time traffic in Church Street and North Street is caused by motorists trying to avoid snarl-ups on a nearby stretch of Twickenham Road, according to a council survey.

Church Street is set to be closed later this year for an 18-month trial period - a move the council hopes will ease the woes of local residents.

The road will be closed at the point just north of the bridge over the Duke of Northumberland’s River, where width restriction bollards are currently located.

The exact date of the closure has yet to be decided but it is set to happen before Christmas, with December 7 mooted as a possible date.

Deputy council leader Amrit Mann said: "The lives of residents have been blighted for years by people using Church Street as a rat run.

"It simply isn't wide enough for the number of vehicles that drive down it and the number of pedestrians using the narrow footpaths.

"The width restriction does not seem to have worked to reduce the problem, so we have to test other measures."

The council said the closure might exacerbate congestion in Twickenham Road. It promised to support residents in the wider area wishing to try alternative modes of travel, like cycling, to reduce the impact on their journey times.

The closure of the narrow road, which is lined with historic buildings, was agreed by councillors on the Isleworth and Brentford Area Forum following a public consultation earlier this year.

Residents had said the volume of traffic blighted their enjoyment of the area and represented a safety hazard.

The council said traffic on surrounding roads would be monitored during the trial period, helping members of the area forum to decide in summer 2017 whether to make it permanent.

It said residents had rejected proposals in the consultation for traffic controls in North Street, but there would be another consultation three months into the Church Street closure to see if public opinion had changed.

Transport officers will also look at whether traffic flow along Twickenham Road can be improved, the council added.