The tranquillity of a picturesque village is set to be shattered by lorries thundering past 1,000 times a day while a section of the new HS2 rail link is constructed.

Rail bosses want to send 500 juggernauts back and forth through historic Wardington in rural Oxfordshire every day for nearly three years as part of the controversial £50 billion project.

But the village’s 600 residents say the seven-ton trucks will destroy the area and put lives at risk.

Wardington is full of thatched cottages, and the Battle of Edgecote Moor during the War of the Roses was fought nearby in 1469.

Rail bosses want to send 500 juggernauts back and forth through historic Wardington in rural Oxfordshire every day for nearly three years as part of the controversial £50 billion project

The lorries will travel along the A361, which includes several dangerous bends. They will transport excavated soil along a 25-mile section of the rail line, which will link London and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Under the proposals, the lorries will be used between 8am and 6pm daily.

With houses, a nursing home and a bus stop used by schoolchildren positioned along the road, there are fears the massive increase in lorries will put lives at risk.

That danger was recognised last week in an alarming comment by Sir Peter Bottomley, chairman of the HS2 Select Committee.

After hearing evidence from the nursing-home owner concerned about residents being taken across the road to the local church, Sir Peter responded: ‘At the risk of a bad joke, you might get some unexpected vacancies.’

Charles Holbech, (pictured) a barrister who lives just off the A361 and who is leading a campaign against the lorries, said: ‘The pollution, the vibrations and the noise will be unbelievable’

Charles Holbech, a barrister who lives just off the A361 and who is leading a campaign against the lorries, said: ‘The pollution, the vibrations and the noise will be unbelievable. We’re supposed to be in a lovely little village, but it will be like living in an inner city once the work starts.’

Bob Jarrett, 67, whose house is on the main road, fears he could be left ‘housebound’. He said: ‘At the moment I have to listen to hear if the way is clear when I’m pulling my car out, but how will I be able to get out when all these lorries are going past?’

Other homeowners fear their properties will be become impossible to sell. Amanda Thompson, who has lived in Wardington for nine years, said: ‘We want to move to Devon, but if we can’t sell we’ll be stuck here until the work is finished.’

Ralph Smythe, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which has campaigned against HS2, said: ‘This will be one of the very worst examples of disruption in England’s countryside caused by the construction of HS2. It is dangerous.’

HS2 spokesman Ben Ruse said: ‘We have significantly reduced the number of planned HGV movements through Wardington and will work closely with our teams to keep disruption to a minimum.’