CONCERNED parents and councillors met MP Oliver Letwin to demonstrate a death-trap' crossing on a popular school route in Dorchester.

Councillor Stella Jones, representing Dorchester Town and West Dorset District Council, said the junction of Prince of Wales Road, Kings Road and Barnes Way had been causing concern since a child was killed there in the 1970s.

She said: "When a child was killed crossing the road 30 years ago they put a couple of bollards up in Kings Road but nothing was done on the Prince of Wales Road and traffic has become much heavier and faster in that time.

"The county council has money to help people walk to school - called the Safe Routes for Schools Fund - and we're trying to get them to use it."

Dorchester Town Council has written to the county council which is responsible for highways saying it wants to meet them but so far Coun Jones said they have had no response.

Mums Jules Dalby and Helen Ciorra said they had picked up the campaign for a safer crossing in their roles as First Steps Pre-School secretary and chairman earlier this year.

Ms Dalby of Fordington said the junction is a death-trap for children of all ages walking to most of the schools in the town.

She said: "I have two children and I often walk another child to Manor Park First School, so I'm trying to cross with two four-year-old boys and a buggy with a two-year-ol,d and by the time you get to the middle of the road, cars come speeding around the corner and have to stop.

"If one of the kids panics because it's noisy or because cars come too close it can be really quite stressful.

"We ran a petition and got nearly 400 signatures from Fordington alone, everyone was very supportive.

"It's a combination of fast cars, lots of kids, no pavement and no crossing."

Mrs Ciorra of Kings Road said: "It's ridiculous for everybody- the speed of the traffic, the visibility is just horrendous and so many children trying to do it.

"The really frustrating thing is that councillors have been campaigning for so long and still nothing is done. My child's just started school and I don't want him to have left school by the time they do something about it."

Dorset County Councillor Trevor Jones said a scheme had virtually been agreed for vehicles not to be able to enter Barnes Way from Prince of Wales Road.

He said: "That should be delivered within months. The rest of the scheme still has to be formally considered and put in the pipeline for funding.

"The no entry sign is a partial solution and will bring about an improvement but it is by no means an entire solution."

MP Oliver Letwin said the proposed one-way system would make it possible to build a footpath along Barnes Way, while other proposals include flashing signs to slow traffic down, and a new crossing on the Prince of Wales Road.

He said it was safe for walkers from just under the bridge in Barnes Way and there was a good footpath on the other side of the Prince of Wales Road, but the problem was getting from one to the other.