Does a child have to die?

A CONCERNED mum is calling for traffic to be slowed down outside a Lickey school after her daughter was nearly knocked down.

Stella Standham, from Alcester Road, is very worried because her six-year-old daughter Cara had to be pulled from the path of a speeding vehicle outside Lickey End First School.

Cara was crossing the road at a pelican crossing near the School Lane school when a vehicle failed to stop. Stella had to grab her daughter's coat and drag her backwards to stop a collision.

"I fear it will take someone being killed before something is done," she said.

"If I had not pulled Cara out of the way, she would have been killed. It has kept me awake at night.

"There used to be a crossing patrol woman on the road but she has not been replaced after she retired," added Stella.

She is now calling for new measures to be put into place to help slow traffic down before it is too late.

"There are speed bumps in the road but they don't seem to work. Something else needs to be done - traffic lights or a speed camera," she said.

Stella and her husband Nigel are now putting together a petition of other concerned parents and residents.

Anne Hill, who is the headteacher at Lickey End First, said: "There has been a problem with speeding vehicles outside the school for a while because they come straight from the motorway.

"We will be in touch with the Highways Partnership to see if they can help us. We will also be talking to parents and pupils about road safety and are advertising for a crossing patrol officer." Mike Walton, of the Highways Partnership, said: "The area around the school is not recognised as a problem for either accidents or speeding. We will monitor the area and would look at the matter further if we were told of a problem or received a petition."