Villagers have voiced safety concerns after a year six pupil was hit by a car near a primary school on a busy road. On Wednesday, April 19, the pupil, who is believed to attend Linby cum Papplewick school, was hit by a car outside the school on Main Street.
The boy was taken to Queen's Medical Centre and reportedly suffered from two broken ankles. A spokesperson for EMAS said: "We received a call at 3.35pm on 19 April to Main Street in Linby.
"The caller reported that there had been a road traffic collision. We sent a medical first responder and a crewed ambulance. One patient was taken to Queen’s Medical Centre via crewed ambulance.”
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Head of School at Linby cum Papplewick Primary School, Rachel Hodge, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the child who was injured outside of the school recently and all those affected. We have been in discussion with Linby Parish Council and other partners and will continue to support everything that can be done to keep all of our children safe on the roads outside of the school. Our priorities are our pupil’s speedy recovery and the safety of our community.”
Families in Linby and the neighbouring village of Papplewick have had concerns about the road for some time. One dad who lives in Linby explained: "There are many parents who feel a zebra crossing should be installed.
"My children have been at the school for five years and during this time, they have not even had a lollypop warden employed. This road is a very dangerous stretch of road, time and time again we have petitioned for this, only for Linby Parish Council to block it at every turn because it doesn’t blend in with the village, and affects the aesthetics of the village."
The parent stated that families were beginning to get frustrated at the situation and feel ignored. He continued: "Luckily, the boy who was run over was ok, he did suffer two broken ankles.
"Why isn’t this enough to get a zebra crossing installed? There is no crossing whatsoever on the entire stretch of Main Street.
"This road is very dangerous, and cars reach speeds well over 60mph. It is only a matter of time before an accident ends in worse circumstances."
A spokesperson for Gedling Borough Council said: “We are deeply sorry to hear about the incident involving a year six pupil outside Linby Cum Papplewick School and we wish them a speedy recovery.
"As part of the Local Neighbourhood Development plan for the area we received comments from the local community and Parish Council around managing the impact of traffic on the area have committed to working with Nottinghamshire County Council as the Highway Authority where we are able to do so.
"We know road safety, particularly around schools, can be a concern for residents, and hope that incidents like this do not happen again.”
Regarding residents' concerns, a spokesperson for Linby Parish Council stated: "The Parish Council have raised concerns with the Borough and County Council for many years and during the production of our Neighbourhood Plan , where road safety and traffic were one of the key concerns for residents, a strategy was put forward to NCC Highways - "Concepts for Road Management Strategy".
"Unfortunately many of the concepts have not been acted upon, particularly introducing a crossing in the village for the benefit of all the residents and people who use the village. We have raised our concerns yet again with NCC and we hope that this terrible accident will be a catalyst for a crossing to be implemented in the village."
Main Street connects Linby to the neighbouring village of Papplewick where residents also have concerns about the road. A spokesperson for Papplewick Parish Council stated: "Papplewick Parish Council has for many years been raising the issue of traffic density and associated issues with Notts CC and GBC, MPs etc on behalf of our parishioners.
"Unfortunately this has had little effect as we have been told that the statistics do not demonstrate a safety issue. Sadly it looks like this is no longer the case and we would like to see an urgent review of traffic safety in the locality with appropriate solutions presented to the communities."
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