THE removal of railings to spruce up a busy town centre road has been criticised as an accident waiting to happen.

The railings, which were in Faringdon Road, to the east of the Platform Youth Centre, had been broken by vandals and were removed by the council last week as part of the town centre regeneration project.

But Diana Kirk, who works in the ATB Shop in Faringdon Road, said cars have since been mounting the pavements and people’s safety is at risk.

She said: “The council said they were an eyesore but they stopped the cars going on to pavements and taking out pedestrians. They have put some bollards up but they have been knocked over already. I am just thinking who is going to get knocked over?

“There is a primary school down there and a playgroup. It is only a matter of time before someone is hurt. All it needs is for someone not really paying attention at the traffic lights and mounting the kerb.”

Last week, Council leader Rod Bluh told the Adver the work was a sign the regeneration work was moving forward.

But Diana said when she walked her dog where the railings used to be she saw one car mount the kerb as it went around the corner and another on the other side.

“That councillor doesn’t live down here and he is just not in touch with the people. He should try living down here,” she said.

“The railings weren’t doing anyone any harm. It is just open now, you can just drive up there if you want and you can see from the marks in the grass that people have been driving on it. People get it wrong and mount the pavement. If anybody is standing there at that point they are going to get squashed.”

She said the railings made the road safer because they made people use the crossing.

“The council are just doing things and not consulting us.”

A Swindon Council spokes-man said: “We instructed highways consultants Halcrow to carry out a feasibility study before we removed any items of street furniture and it was identified that there were no significant safety implications associated with the removal of the railings in question.

“Our records also showed there had been no pedestrian accidents in this particular spot.

“However, we would remind pedestrians and motorists to be mindful of the changes to the street layout. We will be monitoring the area and if any issues arise as a result of the railings being removed we will deal with them appropriately.”