Walsall crash involving schoolgirl 'had been coming'
Residents have called for action after a girl was knocked down by a car outside a school - with claims made that 'it had been coming'.
An air ambulance was called to Blakemore Road near to the junction with Castlefort Road, outside Castlefort School on Friday morning after a four year old girl was hit by a car, sustaining serious injuries.
Residents have said that 'inconsiderate' parking from parents contributed to the accident, with calls now made to MP Wendy Morton asking that she look into the possibility of making the streets surrounding the school residents only areas or introducing other measures to tackle the issue.
Marie Jones, daughter of Pauline Kirton, who lives on Blakemore Road, said that she had long anticipated the moment when a child would get hurt.
Marie's mother was behind a long lasting battle, which started in 1985, to reduce the size of a roundabout near the school over safety concerns, with her daughter now picking up the baton and demanding that action is taken.
Marie, who visits the street where the accident took place every day due to her job as her mother's carer, said: "I have expected this to happen for a long time now.
"For cars turning into Blakemore Road in the morning, there is just no order at all, cars park wherever they want, filling up the street on both sides.
"Something needs to be done because this had been coming, I called up my MP Wendy Morton as soon as this happened because we can't let this happen again.
"It is the same every morning."
Another resident, who did not wish to be named, told the Express & Star that they had seen 'plenty' of near misses on the street this year.
Councillor Anthony Harris, who represents the Walsall Wood area, said he will be 'seeing what we can do' about the situation, adding that problems with parking outside of schools is a 'national issue' that needs to be looked into.
He said: "I have been contacted by residents after the collision, who have told me that they have been worried about something like this happening at some point.
"I will be speaking with senior highways officers at the council and seeing what we can do to address the situation.
"Parking outside of schools is not just a local issue, it is something that is raising problems nationally.
"We do try and encourage pupils to walk but not everyone can do that every day.
"Unfortunately, people can be inconsiderate sometimes and that can lead to problems but we really want to make sure that this doesn't happen again."
Wendy Morton, MP for the Aldridge Brownhills area, said: "Firstly I would like to express my deepest sympathies for the young girl who was injured in this sad accident.
"I have been contacted by residents earlier in the year regarding this, so I wrote to Walsall Council, who said they would be look at the road markings in the area in an effort to ease traffic problems.
"I also raised the issue with the local police team but clearly this is something that is going to have to be looked at again."
Walsall Council spokesperson Sophia French said the authority would look at safety enhancement options once any police investigation surrounding the incident had been completed.
She said: "Walsall council takes the safeguarding of all children very seriously and any road accident involving a child is of great concern to us.
"The Council is working closely with the school, police and our safety officers to robustly investigate and understand the cause of this accident and assess the existing safety measures in place.
"Once the outcomes of this investigation are completed we will then be in a position to decide if any safety enhancements are needed at this site.
