Motorway constructed around homes in China, after residents refuse compensation payment

Three families now live encircled by a flyover

Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China, where a motorway was built around an apartment complex. (ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

Three families in China have found themselves inhabiting a plot of land encircled by a four-lane flyover, after they refused to move for motorway builders.

A demolition crew in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in South China, were tasked with destroying the houses to make way for a road network connecting the city with a recently opened Zhoutouzui Tunnel, under the Pearl River.

Developers had successfully persuaded most homeowners to move, by offering compensation packages.

But three families refused, and the construction firm simply build around them, the Telegraph reported.

Images from the new freeway show an apartment complex, dubbed the ‘nail houses’, surrounded by the road, with the farcical set up quickly going viral.

One official said that the authorities had abandoned attempts to convince the remaining residents to leave, and would now build an acoustic barrier around the community.

Residents could contact "relevant officials" if they wished to change their mind and accept compensation, the official added.

Since 2000, thanks to an economic boom the amount of roads in china has rapidly from 10,000 miles to 46,000 miles.