An elderly woman was killed in a horrific accident as she crossed a busy Bradford junction yesterday.

The woman was hit by a skip lorry laden with stone as she crossed Killinghall Road in Undercliffe.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said the woman was pronounced dead at the junction with Otley Road and Harrogate Road. Police sealed off the scene for several hours after the accident which happened at about 12.30pm.

Witnesses have spoken of their shock.

Newsagent Abid Ali, whose shop Ali and Son is at the corner of the junction, said he heard a scream as he served a customer. Mr Ali said he saw the lorry, which was turning right into Harrogate Road, hit the woman.

"Then she never moved," he said. "I rang 999 straight away to get an ambulance, but it was hard to explain what had happened because I was so emotional."

The 34-year-old claimed the junction, which has no pelican crossings, was dangerous.

He said: "There are lots of elderly people who live nearby. There's no chance for an elderly person to get over; they only get two seconds to cross here. It's like a suicide mission."

He said he was so worried he never let his children, aged nine, five and three, cross the road on their own.

Mr Ali said there were accidents every other day at the junction and a few months ago a boy had been hit by a vehicle close to the site of yesterday's smash.

Richard Tolson, licensee of the Robin Hood pub at the crossroads, agreed. "It is a terrible junction," he said. "It's a wonder somebody has not been killed before this in the past two years."

The police spokesman said officers were keen to talk to the drivers of two vehicles who were not involved in the crash but might have seen what happened.

They were an articulated goods vehicle which came up Harrogate Road and turned left into Killinghall Road, and a white Ford Escort-sized van travelling along Killinghall Road.

Anyone who saw the incident should contact (01274) 376259.