Parents in road campaign after daughter injured

THE parents of a girl who was hit by a car have launched a campaign to make their village safer.

Michael Erskine, 33, from Ystrad Mynach, was holding hands with his four-year-old daughter when she was hit by a car while they were on a zebra crossing on High Street in the village.

Mr Erskine said: “We were crossing the road at the zebra crossing before the mini roundabout.

“A coach was coming round the corner at the roundabout and needed to swing round.

“This forced the car in front of the crossing to reverse and let it through. It knocked my daughter to the ground injuring her arm.”

Mr Eskine said his daughter was shaken up and was taken to Prince Charles Hospital but was later discharged.

He and his wife Jessica have now launched the “Make Ystrad Mynach safe for our children” Facebook page.

They have put together a list of requests including restrictions on heavy vehicles and repositioning of zebra crossings.

In less than a week since the incident the group has gained more than 500 members and continues to gather pace.

Mr Erskine said: “We are really overwhelmed by the response. We knew there was similar feelings from people in the area but to actually see it in black and white is amazing.

“You don’t want your daughter to be the example that triggers something like this but it has made people not want it to happen to their children.

“I think because they could put a face to the problem and to hear about a fouryear-old who loves school to bits.

“She loves going and the walk to school. You don’t want the innocence of the children taken away.

“It highlighted the inevitably that this incident was going to happen.

“I think we could be doubling that (500 members) by the end of the week.”

Wendy Hall is the manager of popular coffee shop Gaffacinos, which is next to the zebra crossing where the little girl was hit.

“This sort of thing happens regularly” said Ms Hall.

“Five or six incidents happen every day with people nearly getting knocked over.

“We have always had CCTV but have put up another one outside to show the council what it is like out there

“It was awful to watch. Luckily the dad acted quickly.

“I have been here three years and it is getting worse. It is such a blind bend that when people come round, unless you know the area, you don’t know there is a crossing. There are near misses every single day of the week.”

Lucy McDonald is another concerned mum who is worried about the crossing. She said: “My son and I are affected by the zebra crossing everyday due to cars not seeing it as they turn right. The times we have had to jump back to the pavement because cars haven’t seen us and have failed to stop are now uncountable.

“I’m truly worried that this will happen again but the child or adult will not be so lucky next time around.”

The group is requesting eight changes to increase road safety in the area. These include raised mini roundabouts, oneway systems and more enforcement of illegal parking.

“We understand that there are requests we have outlined which may not all be achievable but we need answers as to why,” said Mr Erskine.

“If it’s budgets, then the council need to tell us and then it’s a question for the Welsh Government.”

A Caerphilly council spokeswoman said: “Officers have been in contact with the parents and other community members following this incident, and while we wouldn’t speculate on the cause, we’re planning to undertake a review of the operation of the crossing in the near future.”