Worried parents fear there could be a “serious accident or fatality” on a busy road amid pleas for a safe crossing for families.

A petition has been launched to help get a safe crossing over Main Road in Walters Ash, for families and young children heading to and from Naphill and Walters Ash School.

Parents say issues include poor visibility due to parked cars and streams of traffic including farm vehicles and HGVs using the main road – with one saying they had seen “many near-misses”.

The petition – to Buckinghamshire Council – urges them to install a zebra crossing along the major route through the village to prevent “unnecessary harm” to those who need to cross it.

The road did have a crossing patroller to help families get across safely, but they reportedly left the role in October last year and was only replaced in January.

But worried parents feel the safest option would be to install a zebra crossing, because the nearest available one currently is nearly half a mile away from the school on New Road but you have to cross a busy junction to get to it.

The petition says: “There is no safe crossing point at all from the school towards Naphill, a direction from which a great proportion of children and families travel.

“It is a stark reality that one in three of all child pedestrians that are killed or seriously injured are aged 10-11 years old and that every month 1,200 children are injured in traffic related collisions that happen within 500m of a school.

“It is clear that Buckinghamshire Council have rightly recognised the very real risk of serious incident at this critical crossing point, so much so that they have funded and provided a crossing patroller for a number of years.

“I am aware that concerns were raised previously about the reliability and sustainability of utilising a crossing patroller in this this location.

“What has become clear, is that there has been no contingency plan in place in the event that any crossing patroller is not available at the required times and required days.

“This has caused a great deal of worry for children and families over a number of years. There have been proposals put forward for a more sustainable option, in the form of a zebra crossing, which have previously been discounted by Buckinghamshire Council.

“However, given the chronic concerns regarding recruitment and contingency planning it has become imperative that full consideration should be given to the provision of a more permanent crossing at this location.”

More than 100 people have already signed the petition calling for action. To sign, go online to buckinghamshire.moderngov.co.uk/mgEPetitionListDisplay.aspx