A Yeadon man is demanding traffic calming measures on a busy stretch of road after his wife narrowly escaped serious injury.

Paul Cope, of Henshaw Avenue, has started a petition calling for a pedestrian crossing in Henshaw Lane, close to its junction with Ivegate and Harper Lane.

While attempting to cross the road with her children, Mr Cope's wife Shirley, was almost struck by a car coming round the bend. Mr Cope said the near miss had angered him but it had also made him determined to act.

"I have started a petition to try and get some measures put in place for people to cross this road safely. It is a real problem, from young children to pensioners," he said.

Mr Cope said he was delighted with the support shown by Yeadon residents. Only two days after starting his petition he had already collected about 200 signatures.

"Enough is enough. People can be standing for five to 10 minutes trying to cross the road. I know it is an issue people have been talking about for years and years, but hopefully a petition might lead to some action," he said.

Mrs Cope said the road was so bad that she was reluctant to allow her children to cross unaccompanied.

"My ten-year-old is at the age where she wants to go off and cross the road by herself but I think it is just too dangerous," she said.

Mr Cope has enlisted the support of Aireborough councillors Mike and Moira Dunn and Tony Addison (all Labour). Coun Mike Dunn said: "We are extremely sympathetic to the need for a crossing there. It is a danger spot and it is extremely difficult for pedestrians to get across.

"We need to convince the highways department that this is a priority and with this in mind we intend to ask them to do a traffic count at the junction, which will hopefully establish that there is a need.

"We would dearly love to see a crossing there, but it will take time. We got another crossing at nearby Hanover House, but it took four years from the initial lobbying stage, so it is quite a long-term thing and these are expensive items."

A spokesman for Leeds City Council's highways department said: "We will look at their request with interest and will, of course, determine if additional safety measures are necessary following a full investigation."

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