Campaigners are calling for road safety improvements to a dangerous junction.

They have organised a petition demanding traffic lights or a mini roundabout where Chat Hill Road and School Green meet Thornton Road in Thornton, Bradford.

People living nearby say the volume and speed of traffic using Thornton Road at peak times makes turning on to the main road in a car or crossing the road as a pedestrian a hazardous business.

Petition organiser Elayn Crossley, of Southlands Grove, Thornton, Bradford, said more than 600 signatures had been collected so far.

But a Bradford Council spokesman said it has a limited budget for road improvements and was unable to make the junction a priority.

Miss Crossley said the junction was particularly dangerous trying to turn right into Thornton Road from Chat Hill Road.

"It's just like a free-for-all when it's busy," she said.

"I have a had a few near misses there myself. I ride horses as well and trying to get across the road on a horse is even worse.

"Every week you go up there and there's broken glass on the road from another accident."

Among the campaign's most vociferous supporters are Simon and Susan Wilkinson, of Ox Heys Meadows, Thornton, whose four-year-old twins Martin and Claire are keen cyclists.

"It's time something was done about that junction. It's only a matter of time before someone is killed there," said Mr Wilkinson.

The petition has also been supported by Councillor Clive Richardson (Con, Thornton).

He said he believed the cost of installing traffic lights at the junction could be up to £90,000, which might be prohibitive.

Instead he is backing the idea of a mini roundabout to solve the problem.

A spokesman for Bradford Council's highways department said: "During peak times there are problems of congestion at the Thornton Road/Chat Hill Road junction, like there are at many other junctions in Bradford, but unfortunately we only have a limited budget for traffic improvements.''

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