Eight years of battling against bureaucracy has ended with a group of Teignmouth residents getting their road surfaced.

And Ray Knapp, the man leading the campaign at Fair Oaks on the St Lukes estate, admitted: 'It has been a long, long struggle and at times I almost despaired, but kept going.

'This proves that if you have right on your side and are determined, you can succeed.'

The problems of the occupiers of the up-market properties off the top of the Exeter Road began when the estate was completed, but the builder went into liquidation, leaving the road unmade.