A LEADING Southend councillor was back in action at the opening of a new road crossing on the A127 after almost dying in an accident at his home.

Blenheim Park councillor and deputy leader Graham Longley said he is making “good progress” at his McDivitt Walk home in Leigh after being discharged from Queen’s Hospital Romford three weeks ago.

Mr Longley was rushed to Southend Hospital with head injuries after falling down the stairs on October 13, before being immediately transferred to Queen’s for emergency surgery, beginning his recovery in the neuro critical care unit of the hospital.

Adding he had no memory of the accident, which “could happen to almost anyone,” Mr Longley praised the rapid response of the ambulance service which meant he was able to receive emergency treatment as soon as possible.

He said: “I really don’t know what happened other than I fell down the stairs at home, which is what I’ve been told, and we got a very good service from the ambulance.

“They were here within three minutes so we can be proud and pleased with what they did because it got me to the hospital and ended with me going to the Queen’s Hospital, where they worked very hard until such time as I was fit enough to be returned to Southend.”

Although he has not yet resumed his duties as deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for enterprise, tourism and economic development, Mr Longley made an appearance in this capacity yesterday morning to see the opening of his longed-for crossing at Kent Elms.

He said: “Kent Elms is so important that I’ve taken it upon myself to go there when I probably should be at home, but I’ve been trying to get a crossing for people there for 20 years now, and it’s finally there.”

Mr Longley, whose council seat is up for election in May, said he would not be able to begin resuming his duties until at least January and would consider whether to stand for election based on his progress.

The new crossing opened yesterday, bringing an end to weeks of lane closures at the busy Eastwood junction.

Opening the Toucan crossing means that wheelchair-users and those with buggies or mobility scooters now have an alternative to the stepped footbridge to get to the library and health centre.

It forms the first part of a huge overhaul of the junction thanks to £5million of Government cash, which will see a third lane added, both east and west, to the busy bottleneck during the 2016/17 financial year.

More than 40,000 vehicles use the Kent Elms junction a day, with this number rising all the time.

Campaigners, including Tories, had urged for the dated footbridge to be replaced by a foot crossing, and it was included in the new administration’s pledges when it took control of the authority in 2014.

Mr Longley, who is responsible for enterprise, economic development, and tourism at the council, said: “For many years, there have been calls for a new crossing at Kent Elms. In terms of traffic, it is one of the busiest stretches of the A127 within the borough.

“But as the footbridge – the only crossing in the area – has steps, it has meant that people with limited mobility find it difficult to access the health centre and library.

“That’s why the council’s administration pledged to create a crossing here and why I’m so pleased that this pledge has not only been honoured, but delivered ahead of schedule.”

The toucan crossing – a traffic-light controlled crossing for pedestrians and cyclists – will allow pedestrians to cross the road in two stages, with an island between the carriageways.

Council officials claim the current sequence of traffic lights will not change, meaning that queuing times will not increase.