Traffic lights at centre of council probe after boy hit by car deemed safe

An investigation was launched at the Eachill junction in Rishton, which was recently upgraded as part of the multi-million pound Pennine Reach scheme, after the nine-year-old suffered head injuries while crossing High Street in June.

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His mum said he had been to a nearby shop with his teenage brother when he began to cross while the traffic lights were on red and the green man was showing.

She said: “It only gives you five seconds to get across the road.

“By the time a child has looked at the light and checked both ways, the light has changed again.

“Anybody elderly or pushing a pram is not going to make it.”

A video recorded at the time showed the lights changing to a green man for five seconds, but the council has now said it is safe.

An engineer sent to check the lights on behalf of the council said: “I wanted to carry out extensive observations of the signals in a number of morning and evening peaks.

“This was carried out and the signals were found to be operating well for pedestrians and vehicles with acceptable levels of queueing and delay.

“I did not observe any short greens to Harwood Road as reported.

“I realise it is currently school holidays and the traffic levels are lower than normal and will carry out further observations to ensure the signals are operating as efficiently as possible when we return to higher traffic levels after the school holiday period.”

Cllr Ken Moss, who had urged residents to be careful at the lights until they could be investigated, said: “I’ve used the crossing myself and don’t have a problem with the length of time allowed by the green man.

“However, it cannot be denied that there is a tendency for drivers to nip through on red.

“The crossing is perfectly safe if it is used properly by both pedestrians and drivers.”

The nine-year-old had collided with a car travelling from Clayton-le-Moors.

He suffered head injuries and a hurt knee and ankle.