A TEN-YEAR-OLD girl escaped serious injury after she was involved in an accident with a car outside her home in Colne Avenue, Oxhey, on Tuesday.

The incident has reinforced residents' calls for traffic-calming in the road, which they claim is being used as a rat-run by drivers.

Noreen Zahid, a pupil at Bromet School in Oxhey Road, suffered cuts and bruises in the accident, which happened at 5.30pm as she crossed the road after visiting a friend.

Noreen was taken to Watford General Hospital, but was released later that evening.

Her cousin Mr Nadeem Shakoor, 31, of Watford Road, Croxley Green, heard about the accident from relatives. He said: 'She was extremely lucky that she was not more seriously hurt.'

Mr Michael Warren, 31, a council contractor of Prestwick Road, South Oxhey, saw the collision.

He said: 'It happened so quickly. I was on top of my van and heard footsteps and I said 'mind the car' and then they hit. The little girl rolled off the side of the car like a rag doll, I caught her before she fell and took her to her mother and then the ambulance arrived.

'I don't think the driver of the car was going too fast, but the point is that 30pmh is too fast.'

Mr John Woolnough, 75, of Colne Avenue, has lived in the road for more than 40 years and, until January, was chairman of the Rookery Tenants and Residents Association. He said his fight to introduce traffic-calming measures in the road had so far come to nothing.

He said: 'It is absolute chaos here from just after 8am until 9.30am. Drivers use the road as a short cut to save them having to queue at the traffic lights in Eastbury Road.

'This road has turned into a death trap.'

Watford Councillor Mrs Dorothy Thornhill said Hertfordshire County Council had been made aware of the problems.

She said: 'The residents' representative on the Oxhey Transport Forum has made a vociferous plea for traffic-calming on behalf of residents. This was reinforced by public consultation.

'But who is going to find the money to do something about it? The real issue is who is going to put their hand in their pocket.

'The Oxhey Transport Forum is currently being funded by the county council, but future funding is in jeopardy.'