A Burnham-On-Sea school headteacher has called for road safety improvements to be made after a child was knocked down by a passing car earlier this week.
Burnham-On-Sea.com first reported on Wednesday afternoon (March 16th) that a four year-old boy had been taken to hospital after being struck by a car in Oxford Street as he left St Joseph’s School.
Headteacher Simon Kingwell, pictured on the road bend on Friday, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “A 20mph limit along this road would make sense because St Joseph’s, King Alfred’s, St John’s and St Andrew’s are all located along it, but it is a long stretch of road and the council may not want a restriction along the whole of it.”
He added that he would like to see a pedestrian crossing moved nearer to St Joseph’s to slow traffic down in Oxford Street where pupils cross.
He told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “Traffic moves quickly along this bend in the road and, with vehicles constantly moving in and out of Ashley Avenue and the Catholic Church, it can be quite dangerous.”
“With 250 pupils and their parents leaving, the end of the school day is a busy time.”
“I’d like to see the Oxford Street pedestrian crossing moved and have spoken to Somerset County Council about it. Sadly, though, such changes only tend to happen after accidents occur.”
He added: “We have a great lollypop lady here who does a superb job, but there is only so much she can do.”
Simon said that the four year-old boy who had been knocked down was not hurt, but was “shaken up” by the accident.
Police and ambulance crews were called to the scene at 3.20pm on Wednesday, as pictured above. The boy was taken to Weston General Hospital and was later released.
Pictured, top, are staff at the crossing on Friday and, above, the accident scene in Burnham’s Oxford Street on Wednesday
