Mums plea for impatient drivers to cut speed after near miss

Incidents have occurred at the junction of School Road with Queensway, Jepson Way and Common Edge Road in Marton, Blackpool.

Concerned parents of children at St Nicholas CE Primary School on School Road claim some motorists, who have been held up in traffic queues, are jumping the lights.

But today they warned ‘slow down or else a child could be killed’.

Parent Sophie Ward, of Marton, was crossing Queensway, when she says her son Joshua, five, came within inches of being hit by a car.

And headteacher Andy Mellor warned: “An extra two or three minutes at the lights is better than living for the rest of your life knowing you hit or maybe killed a child.”

Sophie said: “I was with Joshua and my other child was in the pushchair.

“The green man came on so it should have been safe to cross. My little boy started walking and I saw a car coming from Jepson Way onto Queensway and I screamed my son’s name.

“He stopped but he was missed by inches. I had flashes in my mind of Joshua getting run over. In a blink of an eye that driver could have taken my child’s life. Now I’m nervous about crossing at that junction and I have seen so many cars jumping the red lights there.”

Another parent Sarah Beechey said: “The green man comes on and you think it is safe to cross, but it isn’t because cars are still coming.

“People are jumping the red light. I think it’s because traffic is stuck for ages and they think they can just get through, but waiting a minute could save a child’s life.”

Another parent Katy Dyer added: “Far too many drivers are just not considering the safety of the children at this junction.”

Mr Mellor said heavy congestion on nearby roads was tempting some drivers to try to get through the traffic lights after they had changed to red.

He added: “The council has told me the delay between the red and green lights is entirely appropriate. But we need to do something to protect children and parents at this school. We are asking drivers to be more considerate.”

Bridge closures in South Shore has seen more traffic using Queensway and School Road than usual.

Coun Gillian Campbell, deputy leader of Blackpool Council, is also a parent at St Nicholas school.

She said: “My main concern is the illegal parking around the school which does not help the situation. There are car parks parents can use at The Shovels pub and near Jepson Way. I understand drivers are in a hurry, but it needs some patience. In my position on the council, I will be keeping a really close eye on it. There will be a new road built as part of the development of the enterprise zone at the airport, so whether that will help, I don’t know.

“But as a parent, I certainly share the concerns.”