FURIOUS parents are calling for safety measures at a York junction close to a primary school – after children were left shaken by a car crash yesterday.

Parents walking their children to Knavesmire Primary School witnessed the crash at the crossing island between Campleshon Road and Bishopthorpe Road - causing one of the cars to spin onto the pavement and the road island.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it attended the incident at 8.50am on Thursday and subsequently took one driver to York Hospital - while two police vans also attended.

A parent told The Press: “Lots of the families who were either about to cross onto the island or had just crossed were very shaken. They realised that they could have been hit if the incident had been a fraction later.”

And Councillor Jonny Crawshaw said the crash is another sign that urgent work needs to be done to make the junction safer.

He said: “Yesterday saw a serious accident with two vehicles colliding, one of which spun around into a traffic island where children sometimes stand to cross the road."

He said risks in the area included poor sight-lines for pedestrians crossing Bishopthorpe Road, adding: "This danger has been established and is known by the council and yet there has been no urgency in implementing a safe crossing solution.”

Headteacher of Knavesmire Primary School, Adam Cooper, said: “Our pupils and parents feel vulnerable when crossing the junction every morning.

“We’ve raised the issue countless times - that it is only a matter of time until something tragic happens - and we hope the council will now take action to make the area safer for all.”

Cllr Crawshaw added: “We recently agreed to some extra funding to get the scheme done quickly, only to have council officers come back to say the work should yet again be delayed. It feels like the risk to public safety just isn’t being recognised by York council and I’m not surprised local families are furious.”

Tony Clarke, head of transport at City of York Council, yesterday said: “Improvement was approved by the executive member last year and this is in the process of being delivered. The primary safety work in the area is to improve the visibility of the island by changes to the parking restrictions. These changes were put in place yesterday.

“The remaining crossing changes will provide additional pedestrian capacity on the island by widening it 0.8m. This element of the scheme is dependent on resurfacing of the road and the delivery date is being finalised.”

No comment was available from North Yorkshire Police.