A DANGEROUS road crossing outside a Sainsbury’s store has been upgraded after six people were hit by cars in just three years.

The zebra crossing outside Sainsbury’s, Eastwood Road, Rayleigh, has now had traffic lights installed to combat fears of a serious crash - or a potential fatality.

The crossing has been upgraded after a three-year campaign from the deputy leader of Rochford Council, Cheryl Roe, after six crashes and “countless” near misses.

Mrs Roe said the crossing outside the supermarket has been an issue for “four or five years”.

She spoke of how she first raised major concerns with the proximity of the supermarket, the crossing, and the alleyway from Wyburns Primary School in 2017

Mrs Roe said: “The lighting and the markings weren’t brilliant. They tried resurfacing it, but it’s such a busy road, it just wore away again.

“Half a dozen people had been hit there in under three and there have been a lot of near misses. Hopefully this will solve those problems. It’s a really busy road to cross.”

The crossing cost the Highways department at Southend Council £150,000, but Mrs Roe said the cost had been a significant hurdle to overcome.

“You can’t be put a cost on someone’s life”, she added.

A biker was involved in a crash with a car in Eastwood Road, at the junction with Lancaster Road, in March earlier this year.

The motorbike driver was rushed to hospital after the crash at about 6.20pm.

The deputy leader also said the traffic on the road can be “chaos” during rush-hour, particularly if a Sainsbury’s delivery driver stops at the side of the road.

She added: “I’m delighted that this has come to fruition. I know three years is a long time, but there is more to it than just painting the lines.

“It’s all the electrics and wiring everything in. This has been a long time coming but I am sure is worth the wait.

“There are a lot of stages you have to go through before you can get something like this done.

“I hope this will stop the numerous near misses that we had at this crossing.”