A DANGEROUS cycle path which sent a schoolboy hurtling over his handlebars is in dire need of repair before someone is seriously injured, say worried campaigners.

Teenager Sam Pretty was cycling his usual route home from the Stanway School when his front wheel slipped into a divot in the path.

He was sent sprawling across the pavement, suffering bruising to his knee and grazes.

Mum Claire said Sam, 14, was lucky to escape serious injury and called on Essex County Council’s highways department to make urgent repairs to the path.

She said: “At the very least I feel the hazard should be highlighted to warn other users of the cycle path of the danger.

“It would be awful if someone else received similar or worse injuries.

“I strongly believe if Essex County Council is going to create a cycle path for children to use outside their school, they have a duty of care to maintain it.

“Sam badly bruised his knee and still has some scarring from the deeper grazes.”

Sam’s fall happened in April, but Claire says she has been unsuccessful in any of her attempts to prevent future accidents.

Lesley Scott-Boutell, ward councillor for Stanway, said she had previously called for repairs to the defect, but was rebuffed.

The Lib Dem said: “They came back and said it didn’t meet the criteria for repair

“Mrs Pretty sent me the pictures of her son and the injuries he sustained.

“It looked like he went over the handlebars, there were lumps out of his hands.

“Now I knew somebody had been hurt, I raised it again, but was again told it didn’t meet the criteria.

“It isn’t good enough. It is as if there is a void underneath the footway, you can’t see this dip until you are actually in it.

“They won’t even put any markings around it. It simply must be repaired – this is a cycleway right near a school, well-used and dangerous.”

The defect is in Winstree Road, near to the junction with New Farm Road.

But an Essex Highways spokesman said the hole was not a “significant risk” when compared with other road defects in the county.

He told the Gazette: “We sorry to year this and wish the young person a speedy recovery.

“The cycle path was inspected in April and a small defect recorded, which was not held to be a significant risk compared to others in Essex which do require urgent repair.

“Our inspector will now revisit the site to check on the issue and if appropriate arrange for a repair to be made.”