RESIDENTS and staff at a sheltered housing complex are campaigning for a safe place to cross a busy road after a woman was seriously injured.

Joan Jordan, 88, lives in Tapscott Court, a sheltered housing complex in Haw Street in Wotton-under-Edge.

Mrs Jordan, who suffers with osteoarthritis and curvature of the spine, was attempting to cross Haw Street when the wheels of her mobility trolley became stuck on the kerb and she fell.

"Residents of Tapscott Court have to walk out into the road between parked cars," said her daughter, Anne.

"On Friday 13 mum was trying to cross but she became unbalanced and fell. Mum is now is Frenchay Hospital with a broken hip."

"I want to prevent another accident here. It is a very busy road with only single file traffic and cars parked down one side.

"The cars go very fast up and down this road trying to get to the end before a car comes the other way. At busy times it takes ages to cross at all.

"Not only is there no crossing for the elderly people, there is no ‘dip’ in the pavement for people with disabilities, sticks, or walkers to safely cross.

"Everyone said that it is ‘an accident waiting to happen’ - well now it has happened, to my mother, and I want something done."

Karen Gyde, a warden for Tapscott Court, added: "We’ve had several near misses. The road is one of the main routes through to the M5 so it’s incredibly busy.

"Residents here have been campaigning for change for a long time - so long, in fact, that the mother of one of our current residents was heavily involved in the fight for a safer crossing point. Traffic calming or a reduced speed limit would help."

Gloucestershire Highways' John Roberts said: "This incident has been brought to our attention and we are looking into putting in a dropped kerb and introducing new parking measures to make it easier for people to cross Haw Street.

"There are no plans to introduce a pedestrian crossing at this time but that will be kept under review."

Cllr John Cordwell, also a resident of Haw Street, is aware of the issue.

"We had a request several years ago for a crossing, but further up from the sheltered housing.

"Traffic Management agreed it was needed but nothing has yet been done. Unfortunately, it often takes somebody to get hurt before action is taken. Hopefully that will be soon."