QUESTIONS are being asked about the safety of a pedestrian crossing in Christchurch following an incident at the weekend where a young male pedestrian was trapped underneath a car.

The man, who is 29 and from Christchurch, had been crossing the busy B3059 road outside the Somerford Inn when he was involved in a collision with a Mercedes C180, being driven by a 29-year-old man at 6.10pm on Saturday.

It is not known whether the man was using the new crossing but the incident has raised concerns about its proximity to the busy Somerford roundabout.

Firefighters used airbags and blocks to raise the car and free the man, who was taken to Southampton Hospital where he remains in a critical condition in the neurological unit.

Comments on the Daily Echo web site over the weekend described the new crossing scheme as “fundamentally flawed” with other posts calling for it to be closed pending an investigation by the council.

Michael Turvey, chief executive of Christchurch Borough Council, said: “The crossing was installed to help pedestrians and cyclists coming from Mudeford towards the town centre and was designed to go at that location as this was the most suitable crossing point and it provided a link between two cycle lanes.

“Traffic surveys were carried out before the installation to determine the speed of traffic coming off the roundabout and the location was considered to be safe.”

Grange ward councillor Denise Jones said: “What matters utmost is safety but obviously when the highways manager put the crossing there they thought it was safe.

“But if people have concerns it would be a good thing if we looked into them.

“I have not heard of any problems but people should contact the council or ward councillors if they have any.”

Anyone with any information about the accident should contact Dorset Police on 01202 22 22 22 or 0800 555 111.