A YOUNG school girl has been left with serious injuries following an accident at a black spot in Hartford last week - but there are plans to prevent it from happening again.

Lucy Ashworth, aged 11, spent three days in hospital after being in collision with a car in Chester Road on Thursday evening last week.

The accident happened between the Greenbank Hotel and the post office and she required 28 stitches to a large cut on her head and treatment for a broken finger.

Her parents Alex and Melanie, who live in Manor Street in Hartford, say the road is an accident black spot and have written to the county council to get another crossing put in place.

There have been a number of fatal accidents on the road in recent years - and Lucy's parents believe she was very lucky to escape with relatively few injuries.

Alex said: "Lucy is lucky to be alive. I'm a skip driver so I know all about roads and this is a terrible piece of road."

Melanie said: "It's even difficult for me to get across. We are not blaming the driver at all - if she hadn't have been driving so sensibly, Lucy might not have been so lucky. We just want something positive to come out of Lucy's accident."

Plans

And a spokesman for Cheshire County Council said plans for the next year's budget could hold such a silver lining.

She said: "It is hoped that in the next financial year, a puffin pedestrian crossing will be built in the vicinity of the post office, near to Manor Street."

The new style of crossing will use sensors to detect when someone wants to cross the road and will automatically activate itself and will even extend the crossing time if someone is walking across slowly.

jsawyer@guardiangrp.co.uk