Safety fears have prompted town councillors to go it alone and install a pedestrian crossing on a busy road without county council backing

Witham Town Council has agreed to take the unusual step of paying £9,000 for a zebra crossing to be put on Maldon Road, Witham, saying it wants to make the road safe before someone is killed, not after.

It decided to go ahead with the plan after Essex County Council, which decides whether applications for crossings should be funded, refused to sanction it.

It said the road did not have a history of accidents and the application did not meet its criteria for a crossing.

But the county council has said it does intend to provide a crossing on the town's Braintree Road opposite the Safeway supermarket.

Tom Hewitt, Labour leader of Witham Town Council, said: "Maldon Road is a very busy road and we want to get the crossing in place before someone gets killed, not after."

He added: "School children to and from Howbridge Schools use the road to get to school and a lot of elderly people cross the road to get to Tesco."

Plans for the crossing are now in a full consultation process between planners and residents. This could take two years.

Maldon Road is the busy main route between the towns of Maldon and Witham. The crossing will be built near the Maldon Road petrol station.

An Essex County Council spokeswoman said: "There is a prioritised list for putting in pedestrian crossings and we start at the top and work down. We have plans to put in a zebra crossing on Braintree Road, Witham, opposite Safeway."

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