Call for Ellesmere school crossing after child in near-miss

A Shropshire couple is calling for action to be taken on a school crossing, claiming their three-year-old-daughter was just inches from being run over.

James Alderson and Gemma Tinsley are also warning parents to be extra vigilant when using the school crossing in Elson Road, Ellesmere, following a number of near misses.

They said an elderly driver last week just managed to brake in time at the red light, stopping inches away from their three-year-old daughter as they made their way to Ellesmere Primary School.

They say it follows a previous near miss when a lorry went straight through the red light as they prepared to cross. The couple have three children, aged four months, three and seven.

Miss Tinsley said: "The crossing is in a bit of a silly place. It is right on a bend and after a bridge which you can't see over.

"When people are driving over the bridge, they don't stick to 30mph for a start, they are having to put the brakes on pretty sharpish. They can't see the lights on the road until they come round a bend."

She added: "One lorry went straight through and nearly hit me, my friend and our prams if we hadn't have heard it coming and stopped.

"The second time there was me, my friend, two prams and my little girl. The car only just stopped before it hit my little girl.

"They either need to make sure people can see the lights as they are coming over the hill or they need more signs. I think there is only one warning sign about the lights being there."

Dave Gradwell, Shropshire Council's engineer, said: "Our contractors are on site today cutting back the hedges to improve the visibility."

He said there were warning signs on the road.