Cwmbran: Boy hit by car after Torfaen council rejects safety calls

Deacon was near shops as a car hit him travelling towards a primary school

A boy has been hit by a car near a school just days after councillors rejected calls for safety improvements.

Deacon, 15, was taken to hospital following the crash by Blenheim Road Community Primary School in Cwmbran, Torfaen, on Saturday.

It follows a petition to install safety measures on the road after residents reported "near-misses on a weekly basis".

Torfaen council said it was liaising with police on detail of the incident.

Deacon was treated for a broken collar bone and cuts and bruises at Grange University Hospital, and while he is now at home, he will need an operation on his shoulder.

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He was crossing Blenheim Road near shops when he was hit by the car travelling towards the school.

"The windscreen completely smashed to pieces," said his mother Caroline Trinder.

"He knocked the bumper off the car and one of the headlights came off. He is lucky to be here."

Deacon's mum says he is lucky to be alive

Nearly 400 people have signed a petition calling for safety measures to be put in place on the road near the primary school.

But at a council meeting on 16 November, councillors backed a report which did not support installing road safety advancements, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Traffic surveys showed a 23% increase in traffic and a slight increase in speeds, but council officers said this was not enough to support additional road safety measures

Mrs Trinder, whose niece was also involved in a crash on the same road two years ago, has called for action to be taken following the latest incident.

"Eventually it's going to be inevitable that somebody is going to be killed there," she said, adding that the driver was not at fault for the incident involving her son.

"Something seriously needs to be done."

Deacon is not the only one to be hit on the same road near the school

St Dials ward councillor Elizabeth Haynes, who set up the petition on behalf of constituents, wants Torfaen council to review its decision.

"It only takes one incident and this child is lucky to be alive," she said.

Gwent Police said officers, along with paramedics from Welsh Ambulance Service, attended after the crash was reported at around 17:05 GMT.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact the force to assist in its investigation.

Torfaen council said it has been informed of the incident and is "liaising with Gwent Police for further information on the detail of the incident".