A bricklayer is calling for a ban on articulated lorries on his Speedwell street after his sports car was badly damaged outside his house.

Daniel Doherty says it will cost more than £1,500 to repair his red Mazda MX5, which was left dented and scratched when a lorry hit it and drove off.

Mr Doherty, 25, who lives with his parents on Deep Pit Road opposite an entrance to Fishponds trading estate, says the accident is the fifth time in recent years cars have been damaged by lorries turning into the estate.

He said it was the second time his own car had been hit and that a Peugeot and Jeep belonging to his father were crashed into on two separate occasions, almost writing them off, and a neighbour's Vauxhall Meriva was also damaged in another incident.

Mr Doherty said a lorry had also knocked down a neighbour's wall trying to get into the estate, and another smashed over a street light.

He says that each time the drivers have disappeared without leaving their details, leaving the car owners with costly insurance bills.

Now he is calling on the council to impose a weight limit on the road or make it a one-way street in a bid to stop any more damage being done. Mr Doherty, who is currently working for a galvanising company, said: "I came home from work at about 5.30pm on Monday and found the whole side of my car had been ripped open by a lorry.

"The front wing has been sliced open like a tin of beans, the passenger door hinges have been ripped off and I can barely open the door.

"I was shocked at how bad it was, and whoever was driving would certainly have known they had hit something.

"I told the police, but they said they couldn't do anything because there was nothing to show who had done it."

Mr Doherty, who had his car resprayed 18 months ago after the last accident, will now have to pay £450 insurance excess and repairs will cost at least £1,500.

He said: "I don't see why I should have to pay the excess for my insurance when my car was parked legally outside my house.

"There are so many companies on the estate it could be anyone. When a lorry hit our neighbour's car we knew who it was, but they wouldn't do anything about it and denied it."

Now Mr Doherty wants the council to take action.

He said: "I have told them before, but they don't seem to want to do anything about it. Something has got to be done. Some of the lorries are 30 or 40ft long and have trailers attached, so they might not know if they have hit something.

"It is a residential area but there is access to the trading estate from it and lorries use it as a shortcut.

"I want to make it so the road has a 7.5 tonnes weight limit, or a one-way street so the lorries can't come up the road."

Kate Hartas, a spokeswoman for Bristol City Council, said an effective solution could be found to the problem.

She said: "Mr Doherty should contact the council's traffic management department. Officers will be happy to talk through the relative merits of any proposed courses of action.

"The council would need to evaluate any proposal and its likely effectiveness and cost. There are tough priorities within the council's budget aimed primarily at reducing casualties, so high cost schemes tend to be concentrated on dangerous sections of road."

Avon and Somerset police spokesman Wayne Baker said: "The matter has been reported to the police and was logged as a collision. Our inquiries are continuing."