A YOUNG schoolgirl was seriously injured in an accident on a stretch of road in Chipping Sodbury where safety fears have already been raised.

The girl, said to be aged 13, was left with lower leg injuries after being hit by a car whilst walking to Chipping Sodbury School last Thursday morning. It happened at 8.36am on Dodington Road, near Lilliput Avenue.

Mel Glanville, spokeswoman for Great Western Ambulance Service, said: “We received a call reporting that a teenage female had been in collision with a car.

“She suffered lower leg injuries and we had an ambulance on scene at 8.44am. Our air support unit was monitoring the incident but it was decided it was not required.

“The patient was taken by a land crew to Bristol Children’s Hospital.”

Police said they attended the accident but found the driver was not at fault. A spokeswoman said: “A teenage girl was taken to hospital with a leg injury after a collision near Chipping Sodbury School. “Officers went to the scene and found no fault with the driver.”

The accident comes just two months after the Gazette reported on increasing concerns for the safety of pupils and other road users on Dodington Road. In October, we revealed that local residents and councillors believed the road, which links Chipping Sodbury with the Avon Ring Road, was frequently used as a rat run with many motorists driving at excessive speeds.

Liz Gregson, who lives nearby on Dodington Road, said although she had not been aware of this accident she had witnessed several incidents in the past and there were regular near misses on the road.

“Nothing has changed, it is still used by lorries I feel we should not have and drivers still speed down the road and I don’t know how we can stop it,” she said. “The least we feel is needed is a weight restriction and traffic calming measures on the narrow bridge.”

Added Mrs Gregson, a magistrate and former chairman of Sodbury Festival committee: “Since the ring road opened traffic here has trebled.

“My main concern is always the vulnerability of children going to the school playing fields because they have got to cross the bridge.”

Cllr Claire Young (Lib Dem, Westerleigh) has also raised concerns over the road’s usability and has met with Network Rail to discuss its plans to raise the parapets on the bridge.

She said: “But they have said any road safety improvements will be down to South Gloucestershire Council. There is the possibility of installing traffic lights to make it one-way but they are expensive and the road will be factored against all schemes in the area.”