RESIDENTS have expressed safety concerns about a busy Hazlemere junction after a boy was knocked down close to it.

The latest accident happened on Friday just after 4pm when a youngster, who police say was aged around 12, was hit by a van near the roundabouts on the A404 Amersham Road.

Four roads leading from High Wycombe, Penn, Amersham, Holmer Green and surrounding areas converge at the busy crossroads, which are made up of two mini-roundabouts positioned next to each other.

A Hazlemere resident, who did not want to be named, described the junction as "an accident waiting to happen". He said: "I've lived here for 20 years. There's no advance warning that there's a pedestrian crossing. There's three schools and a nursery near. It's just crazy.

"If you had a mandatory 20 miles per hour speed limit from 250 yards away in and out from the whole area it would slow things down."

He added that he had expressed his fears to the Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) covering the area.

Resident Anne Carr lives in Amersham Road near the two mini-roundabouts. She said: "My friend's daughter was run down on these crossroads a few years ago.

"One lad, a motorcyclist, was killed near the garage a few years ago so it's quite bad."

Her car was written off as she came out of her driveway once, she said. "It's the breadth of the road as well. My daughter had an accident when someone didn't realise she was turning into our driveway and overtook on the pavement," she added.

John Blackmore, 24, of Cornel Close, Hazlemere, said he did not think the junction was dangerous if people knew the area well. He said: "There's a lot of traffic. The crossroads are quite close but most people know the area. Although I've seen a few people going down the road the wrong way."

The injuries of the boy involved in the collision on Friday are said to be "not life threatening" although he was taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital and kept in overnight as a precaution.