Safety calls after man, 91, hit by car in Chell

A 91-YEAR-OLD man was last night being treated in hospital for a head injury and broken arm and leg after being knocked down by a car.

The pensioner was on his way to get a morning newspaper when he was involved in a collision with a silver Peugeot 206 on Chell Heath Road, in Chell, yesterday morning.

He suffered a broken arm and leg and was taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire following the incident at 7.10am.

Following the accident local residents told The Sentinel they had been campaigning for better traffic safety measures on the road for years.

Stan Chamberlain, aged 63, of Barncroft Road, Chell, was walking up the road just after the incident happened.

He said: "I could see police and ambulances everywhere.

"I saw a man lying on the floor so I assumed he had been hit by a car.

"There has been one or two accidents along the road over the years because people speed and there are no traffic lights or crossings by the shops."

Chell Heath Residents' Association chairman Jim Gibson, of Homer Place, Chell Heath, arrived at the association's community base just before 8am.

The 59-year-old said: "I could see that a car had its windscreen smashed in and there was a man on the floor.

"I know him by sight. He always walks to the shop to get his morning paper.

"He is quite elderly so I am worried about his injuries."

Mr Gibson also pledged to step up his fight for a pedestrian crossing along the stretch following the accident.

He added: "We have been fighting for a crossing along that road for years because cars speed up and down it and it just proves that it's an accident waiting to happen.

"People don't drive slowly so we desperately need something put in place to make sure that this doesn't happen again."

Another Chell Heath resident, who wished not to be named, added: "It won't be long before somebody is killed along that road.

"It is such a shame that this has happened."

Police diverted traffic down Sprinkbank Road while officers investigated the collision and reopened Chell Heath Road just before 10am yesterday.

A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "We were called to reports of a collision on Chell Heath Road, Chell, at around 7.20am yesterday.

"The collision involved a silver Peugeot 206, which was in collision with a pedestrian.

"The pedestrian, a 91-year-old local man, suffered injuries to his arm, leg and head but they are not believed to be life-threatening.

"He has been taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire for treatment and the road was reopened at 9.50am."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman added: "We were called to find a pedestrian, a man in his 90s, had collided with a car.

"He had a head injury and a broken arm and leg.

"His injuries were treated at the scene and he was given oxygen before being taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire for further assessment and treatment."

Police confirmed no arrests have been made and investigations were ongoing.