COUNCIL officers may reject demands for a crossing where a little boy died.

Southend Council is investigating whether it should install extra safety measures in London Road, Westcliff, where six-year-old Joseph Ball was killed in October.

Campaigners will hand over a petition with more than 10,000 signatures to the council on Thursday, calling for a new crossing.

However the Echo understands highways officers are reluctant to agree to the demand, because there are already two crossings within a few hundred metres of the accident site.

Nigel Folkard, a Tory councillor for the area, said: “I’ve been told that there may be some issues because it would be difficult to squeeze in another crossing there. But I don’t think you can ignore the public feeling on this. Something needs to be done.”

Joseph, of Burdett Avenue, Westcliff, was killed by motorbike rider Marek Kolton, 26, as he crossed London Road near the junction with Balmoral Road. Kolton, who rode away from the scene, was jailed earlier this month for more than five years after admitting causing death by dangerous driving.

In the wake of the tragedy, council chiefs promised to conduct a full safety review of the road to decide whether changes needed to be made or not.

Although the authority ruled the petition only contained 4,800 eligible signatures – because people had failed to include their address or lived outside the borough – it still exceeded the 1,500 names needed to trigger an automatic debate.

Andrew Lewis, the council’s corporate director for enterprise, said: “We promised to review the road safety arrangements for that section of London Road following Joseph’s death. That review is still ongoing.”