Mum and baby in near-miss on crossing

Now she is campaigning for it to be upgraded to pelican standard.

Karen Langan, of Windsor Road, was pushing daughter Myfanwy, 14 months, over the Buckhurst Place crossing last Monday afternoon. A Ford Fiesta which had failed to stop for them sped past only a foot from the baby's buggy.

Karen says it is not the first time drivers have failed to stop for her there. Now she is hoping that people who have had similar experiences will contact her.

She wants to present a strong case to East Sussex county highways department for safety in Buckhurst Place to be improved with a pedestrian-operated pelican crossing with stop lights.

Now divisional county highway engineer Graham Furness says there would be no harm in her doing so for the incident comes at a time when radical ideas for traffic control in the area are in the melting pot.

Karen told the Observer: "I was half way across when a car came from Town Hall Square. I thought 'He's not going to stop!' I stopped. If I had taken just one more step he would have hit us. The car missed the front of the buggy by about a foot.

"I made a note of the number and reported it to the police. But I had not got the whole number - the car was going too fast.

"I got in touch with the Highways Agency and said I wanted the zebra crossing made into a pelican crossing. They said the whole area is under review at the moment but they won't make it a pelican crossing unless there is a serious accident!

"My concern is that there are any number of school children using that crossing at 8.30 and again at 3pm and this is NOT an isolated incident. Many people have said to me that vehicles have failed to stop for them when they have been crossing there.

"This was a dark-coloured Fiesta driven by a young man. I was very vocal. He must have heard me. But he shot off down Terminus Road. I told the police, he must have been doing 50mph if not more.

"I am really concerned that there will be a serious accident there. I live in Windsor Road so I use that crossing three or four times a day. My eldest child, Sam, uses it to get the bus to school and my middle child, Callum, uses it to get to his school.

"I would like to ask other readers if they have had an experience there so people can get in contact with me.

"There are two lanes on the southern side of Buckhurst Place. Very often someone will wait for you in the first lane but someone else will come speeding past in the outer lane.

"A pelican crossing there would be more effective. I just think that nothing is done if someone fails to stop but doesn't actually hit anyone. If they go through a red light it's a more serious matter."

Graham Furness said: "At present a pelican crossing there is crying for the moon as far as county funds are concerned. There may have been near-misses but we have had no accident problem there. To have a pelican crossing there has to have been an accident record.

"However, we have just had an interesting meeting with Sea Space (the regeneration agents) and their newly-appointed architects, Beyond Green, and the engineers working for them.

"They are looking at all kinds of options for that area and Town Hall Square.

"There is no harm at all in this lady presenting her facts if she wants to. Fortunately, we don't have an accident problem, what she is talking about is near-misses and this is worrying.

"We have, in fact, taken action. We have put down different-coloured anti-skid surfaces on the approach to the zebra crossing to make it more visible to drivers.

"We would be very interested to hear from her, especially if she has other people who have had similar experiences."

Karen's campaign has been taken up by ward member Cllr Joy Hughes.