THE mother of a young girl who died while crossing a busy Preston road says council bosses have turned down an £18,000 donation from her family to pay for traffic-calming measures.

Grieving mum Carol Chippendale is now asking residents to back her campaign to have speed humps placed along several Plungington roads, including Trafford Street where her six-year-old daughter Hannah died after falling in front of a car.

Trafford Street is one of a number of small streets used by motorists desperate to avoid the congested Blackpool Road Garstang Road junction.

Carol wants speed humps installed to prevent another death - and her family offered Preston Council £18,000, a month after Hannah's death. Council officers said they could not accept the money, so the family used it for other purposes.

Carol, of Elmsley Street, said: "We offered the money to council officials but they said they couldn't possibly accept it.

"I realise that my Hannah tripped and fell into the road so speed humps may not have helped her, but they would have made the car which hit her slow down. We know the driver was using the street as a short-cut.

"Every day I see near misses involving children and everytime I see one I think of my Hannah."

Along with Trafford Street, Brackenbury Road, Eldon Street and Ripon Street should all have traffic calming measures introduced, says Carol.

The roads are also used as a short-cut between Plungington Road and Garstang Road.

Preston council officials have two proposals - closing the roads off or introducing speed humps, but money isn't available for either.

Carol added: "By closing one road, the problems for the other roads become worse. Accidents can be stopped if motorists slow down. It annoys me so much that the council says it cannot afford to lay speed humps even though my family offered to help."

But Mahmoud Labib, Preston Borough's director of technical services, said: "I am very surprised that such a request was turned down. I certainly did not get to hear of it. We are looking at ways of funding this scheme, but it takes time."

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