'Near miss' hotspot to get crossing after campaign

Church Road in Leckhampton is busy during the school run

A pedestrian crossing is to be installed near a primary school following a safety campaign by one of its pupils.

Parents and teachers have reported a number of near misses on Church Road in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, with cars mounting the pavements during the school run.

Amalie, a year six student at Leckhampton Primary School, started a petition last year calling on the county council to install a crossing.

"So many people are using the road getting to school every morning and they just need some form of safety, especially for younger children," she said.

Amalie's petition attracted more than 1,000 signatures and she spoke about her concerns at a council meeting.

Her campaign garnered cross-party support and the then Conservative-led council agreed to support the proposal and carry out surveys.

Now under Liberal Democrat control, Gloucestershire County Council said it would continue with the plan to install the crossing despite there being no serious accidents.

Councillor Martin Horwood said: "We don't want to wait until somebody is hurt. We want to get this done as soon as possible."

11-year-old Amalie's petition was signed by more than 1,000 people

Amalie won an award from her school for her campaigning work.

Head teacher Samantha Porter said: "We are incredibly proud of the initiative shown by Amalie in championing safer routes to school."

Amalie will have left the school by the time the crossing is built but has welcomed the commitment by the council, saying she is "pleased that they've actually listened to my idea".

In a statement, the council said it recognised "how difficult crossing the road can be for children, the elderly and people with a disability".