VILLAGERS living in a small road were this week coming to terms with the threat of having all their homes compulsorily purchased to make way for the proposed Heathrow expansion.

Residents of Elbow Meadow off Bath Road, Colnbrook received letters late last week warning that their 13 homes may have to go to allow the M25 to be realigned 150 metres to the west of the airport - a £2.6 billion compensation package is being committed.

Elbow Meadow is about half a mile from the main village of Colnbrook and much nearer the runway.

Heathrow has been part of residents’ lives for years.

Planes fly so low over their homes as they head down to the runway that the names of the airlines are clearly visible, creating an deafening roar loud enough to drown out conversation or television.

Marjorie Edwards, 86, has lived in her house with its beautifully cultivated back garden since 1958 when she and her late husband had it built.

He worked for the Ford car company in Langley.

She said: “We wanted somewhere he could cycle or drive to.”

But the relentless growth of Heathrow changed things.

She said: “The air quality has been badly affected. My husband became very ill and the doctor told him he lived in the wrong place. He died of pneumonia.”

But she does not want to leave her home after so many years and her view on Heathrow expansion is clear.

“I just wish they would do it somewhere else.

“Heathrow has ruined this village.”

Her good friends Keith Ayres, 79 and his wife Kathleen live at the Brands Hill end of Colnbrook almost a mile further away from the airport.

But possible rebuilding of the A3044 road would affect that part of the village too.

The Ayres family once ran the family building firm in the village and Mr Ayres has lived there his whole life.

He said: “There used to be 36 shops in the village. We were a village where people knew each other. They vanished one by one and now there is just one. It is the Heathrow blight - many see Colnbrook as a dormitory village.”

Neil Smith, 61 and his wife Anne have lived in Elbow Meadow for more than 30 years.

He worked at John Guest Plumbing Systems, West Drayton as a quality engineer.

He said: “I don’t really mind if they do compulsorily purchase us, I would not really miss it.

“This village has changed so much over the years.

“But I do feel sorry for people who feel differently.”

One resident who did not wish to be named said he was concerned about his daughter’s forthcoming exams if the family had to move away from her school next year.

He said: “We did try to move earlier. The house has been on the market but the three offers were all well below the house’s value made by people who knew about the Heathrow threat.”

The new Heathrow consultation runs until March 28 and a final decision will be made by MPs later this year on the third-runway development. Visit www.heathrowconsultation.com for more information.