A JUNCTION on the newly revamped Oxford Road has been turned into an accident waiting to happen, it has been claimed.

Residents are concerned about the Lady Margaret mini-roundabout near Nythe Road which they say is being ignored by some drivers who do not even realise it is there.

The roundabout has always been there but the layout has been changed. The roundabout is no longer raised and is now simply marked on the road.

In addition, a pedestrian crossing has also been installed just before the roundabout with a straight-on sign, distracting drivers approaching Swindon from the Oxford direction.

Barry MacDonald, of Gayton Way, off Nythe Road, said: "Before it was obvious but now it is not very clear. Some drivers coming from the Oxford direction don't stop because they don't know it's there but residents and regular drivers on the road use the roundabout which causes all sorts of confusion and is very dangerous."

He explained the small roundabout sign for drivers coming from the direction of Oxford was overshadowed by the large sign pointing straight-on and the pedestrian crossing also distracts drivers from seeing the roundabout.

"Consequently, drivers plough through and those coming the other way and wanting to turn right into Nythe Road have to give way even though it is their right of way," he said. "The other day I was turning right into Nythe Road when I looked at the oncoming car and thought it looked like it was approaching a bit fast. If I hadn't stopped, we would have crashed. Later the same afternoon I heard screeches and saw exactly the same thing happen to someone else."

Mr MacDonald said he wants the council to make the roundabout more visible to drivers.

"There could be a very serious accident especially if a motorbike was involved and there are heavy lorries going down that road all the time," he said.

The £1 million Oxford Road improvements started on September 1 with the aim of resurfacing the road and removing one of the grass verges to create a cycle path.

Oxford Road resident, Jane Gallo, has also seen problems caused by the confusion over the roundabout.

"Drivers are not giving way and if you are coming up from Coleview, other drivers are plunging straight on I've seen that quite a lot."

Swindon Council spokeswoman Lynda Fleming said: "The mini roundabout is a temporary safety measure until the lights go in. We'd already noticed drivers hadn't reacted on occasion to the temporary markings at the temporary roundabout.

"So, hopefully today, we're putting up more signs to give people more information about the fact that the roundabout's in place."

The police said they didn't know of any accidents that had happened so far.