A PUBLIC meeting has been called after an 11-year-old boy was knocked down and injured near a busy main road in Colne.

The Park High School student was airlifted to the Royal Blackburn Hospital with suspected spinal injuries after he was in collision with a Vauxhall Corsa car close to the junction of Rutland Street and Byron Road.

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Lancashire Police said that the boy, who has not been named, was not badly hurt as a result of the incident, which occurred around 3.40pm on Tuesday.

Now Elsie Dawson, 74, who lives on Byron Road, has restarted a campaign to install an extra crossing along Byron Road, a busy route between the end of the M65 and destinations in West Yorkshire.

Park High headteacher Dr Paul Parkin has pledged to attend a public meeting to assess the extent of the problem.

Just two years ago a zebra crossing near the Rutland Street junction was suggested at a cost of around £21,000, but the proposed scheme was only one option at the time and was later given a lower priority rating.

Mrs Dawson said: “The traffic is horrendous down Byron Road and we were promised a crossing some time ago. We want to know what has happened to it.

“The children from Park High School walk down a ginnel, at the bottom of Oak Street and across the main road.

“There is a crossing further down but children will be children and they just cross where it’s easiest.”

Mrs Dawson is also concerned at the long walk faced by elderly residents living along Byron Road, who are forced to make a lengthy detour to reach the bus stop for town services.

She has invited Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson and several county and borough councillors along to a meeting at Byron Road Community Centre on January 30, from 7pm.

Oliver Starkey, Lancashire County Council’s highways manager for Pendle, said: “There are currently no plans to install a new crossing on Byron Road.

“However, we will continue to look for ways to make safety improvements on the road.”

A Lancashire Police spokesman, commenting on Tuesday’s collision, said: “The 11-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital from the scene but it is understood that he sustained minor injuries. The driver was spoken to at the scene but was not arrested. There will now be an investigation.”