Quidhampton residents who are concerned about the amount of traffic passing through their village.DA5044P3CHILDREN and parents walking to and from St John's First School in Lower Bemerton are risking their lives because drivers don't take care, according to a group of mothers.

The women say the situation is made worse by there being no pavement in some places and by the increase in traffic due to drivers avoiding the roadworks at Skew Bridge and using the villages as a rat run.

Carolyn Sheppard, whose son is nine, said: "We take our lives in our hands every day. The school will become a primary school in September, so the children will be there another two years.

"They will want to walk with their friends when they are older but we shall not be able to give them that independence because it is too dangerous."

Susan Coleman said children were transported everywhere and she wanted to walk with her seven-year-old daughter.

Patricia Kemp, who has a son at the school and, as a childminder, brings six more children, said some motorists had "no consideration for anyone walking along the road".

"It has been going on for years but the Skew Bridge roadworks have made it worse," she said.

Liz Smith, of Quidhampton, said she would not walk with her eight-year-old son because it was too dangerous, and Emma Dewar, who has a seven-year-old daughter, said she had to walk in the road because she also has a toddler whose buggy could not negotiate the gravel footpath, which is accessed at each end by six steps.

County councillor Clive Vincent said: "The road through Lower Bemerton and on to Quidhampton is extremely narrow in parts and there are several blind spots.

"It cannot cope with the volume of traffic and the situation has become intolerable due to the massive increase in traffic now using Lower Road as a rat run since the start of work at Skew Bridge.

"It is a nightmare for residents going about their business and for parents who walk their children to and from St John's School.

"In places there is not even a pavement to provide a modicum of safety, so parents and children are having to dodge heavy traffic.

"While I do not think the situation will greatly improve until the roadworks have been completed, I shall be speaking to the highways department to see if there is anything practical that can be done in the meantime to ensure the safety of pedestrians along this route."