“Our school has no signs and no speed limit signs. I think this needs to be sorted very soon or else one of us is going to get hurt.”
This is the heart-breaking hand-written letter to Surrey County Council from a child at a primary school where a three-year-old girl suffered head injuries when she was hit by a mini-bus.
From yesterday: Three-year-old girl hospitalised with head injuries after being hit by minibus outside Southfield Park Primary school in Epsom
The toddler was taken to St George's Hospital by ambulance with multiple injuries after the collision outside Southfield Park Primary School in Epsom on Tuesday morning.
She was injured just before 9am, close to drop-off time at the school, and Cherryfield Nursery.
St George’s Hospital in Tooting, a specialist trauma centre, later confirmed to Surrey Police the girl suffered minor injuries.
This was the scene in Long Grove Road, Epsom yesterday morning
The letter to Surrey County Council, pinned to a display board in Southfield Park Primary School, read: “Our school has no school signs and no speed limit signs.
“Surely you would make the effort to put up signs so that we are safe.
“Don’t you agree that the children of Southfield Park should be safe and get a good education?
“I think this needs to be sorted very soon or else one of us is going to get hurt.
“You need to do this fast and sensibly.”
There were a number of letters sent to him by the school.
Alan Flaherty, a traffic engineer at Surrey County Council replied to the letters on Thursday, January 7.
He said: “Thank you for the letters from some of your pupils asking for various safety measures around the Southfield Park Primary School in Epsom.
“I have looked at the area and agree that there is a lack of school warning signs. I shall arrange for signs to be put up in Chantilly Way, Brettgrave and Long Grove Road.”
Surrey Police closed Long Grove Road and Brettgrave while they carried out their initial investigation yesterday morning
The road outside the school is very busy during drop-off and pick-up times on schooldays, according to one neighbour.
John Atkin, a finance analyst living near the school, said: "The car park is not big enough and parents get desperate and park in the sides of the road.
"It is not surprising that a child might come between parked cars and is not seen."
A mini-bus was parked at the side of Long Grove Road
A spokesman from Surrey Police said: “We have heard from the hospital that the victim has suffered minor injuries.
“We wish her and her family well and a quick recovery.”
An ambulance spokesman said: "The young girl was treated at the scene and taken to St George's Hospital with injuries including a head injury."
Anyone who witnessed the crash is urged to contact Surrey Police on 101, quoting reference number P16030297.
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