A MOTHER of four young children, who has demanded a pedestrian crossing in Leggatts Way for several months, has expressed her horror after hearing a student was knocked down by a car in the blackspot two weeks ago.

Mrs Suzanne Sheed, 34, from Maytree Cresent, north Watford, said the majority of residents consider Leggatts Way to be an accident black spot for both pedestrians and drivers and she had written to Watford Mayor Sybil Tuckwood in September 2001 asking for a pedestrian crossing and speed enforcement measures to be installed.

Mrs Sheed said she had never received a reply from the mayor.

She explained the road had a lot of through traffic using it as a short cut to the motorways M1 and M25.

She said drivers often raced down the road at very fast speeds during the day and night, not realising that the road was frequently used by young families and students travelling to and from West Herts College, Leggatts Campus, which was nearby.

"My biggest fear is that a young child will be killed on that horrible road. And it increased when a college student was knocked down by a speeding car about on Thursday, February 7, at about 4pm.

"When it happened, I immediately thought, if that had been a younger child they would have been killed instantly.

"As a mother, I worry about the safety of my children who are risking their lives everytime they cross that road.

"You have to be on the look out all the time because some people have driven so fast around the bends on Leggatts Way that they have crashed into hedges."

Concerned Grandmother Mrs Julie Murdock, 61, from Berkhamstead, said: "I visit my grandchildren on a regular basis and take them to the park on Leggatts Way which means we have to cross the road.

"That road is so dangerous, it terrifies me that young children are forced to cross this road without crossings."

A manager at the Bill Everett Centre said staff at the Centre were not aware of the speeding problems, but if people were worried, then they should contact the Watford Council's highways department.

He added: "It is unfortunate that the whole of Watford has a speeding problem which must make it difficult for the Council to decide where to act first."

Watford Councillor Keith Crout said: "Hertfordshire County Council is, ultimately, responsible for approving and financing traffic calming measures that we, Watford Council, proposed in Leggatts Way."