CALLS have been made for traffic lights to be reinstated at a Cinderford crossing after a woman was knocked over on Friday.

Morning shoppers and motorists looked on in horror when a car driven by a 20-year-old Coleford man was in collision with a woman, also aged 20, as she crossed the zebra crossing outside the Golden Lion pub.

An eyewitness told the Review: "I met a queue of traffic waiting to go up the High Street and realised there was a woman lying on the side of the pavement and a car window was smashed. I immediately wanted to see if she was okay. There was no police or ambulance present when I arrived so it must have just happened."

It is understood the woman was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital with minor injuries and no further action has been taken against the driver.

But locals say its time for the crossing to be manned by traffic lights as opposed to pedestrians "making a face" that suggests they are about to step out.

A reader, who didn't wish to be named, said: "Although there is a 20mph speed limit in place through the high street it's very rare you see motorists stick to that. That piece of road is particularly busy and it is easy to drive through the crossing, while somebody is waiting to cross and not see them.

"When the traffic lights were there you would at least slow down as you knew the lights could change – but now they're gone it's an opportunity for motorists to continue driving at full speed.

"Luckily the woman is okay but I would hate for the next accident to leave somebody in a worse state."

The lights were replaced with a zebra crossing by Gloucestershire Highways last November as part of the Cinderford Regeneration Scheme to improve the town centre.

Brian Watkins, local highways manager at Gloucestershire County Council, said: "While we're not able to comment on specific cases, we will be meeting with the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership to discuss the crossing and its effectiveness.

"In November last year we finished a scheme in Cinderford to improve the general environment of the town centre. An assessment was carried out and the results showed that a zebra crossing together with the 20mph speed limit would be the most suitable option for the area."