Worried parents fear a child will be killed or seriously injured if action is not taken to make drivers slow down near an Oxford primary school.

Sheena Whitehouse with pupils from left, Alice Krige, Thomas Whitehouse, Jonathan Allen and Sally Gomerfall

They want measures to be taken to make motorists slow down before they reach the pelican crossing outside St Andrew's School, in London Road, Headington.

They also want action to stop cars and buses jumping red lights at the crossing.

Their fears were highlighted last October when they said a speeding motorist narrowly missed children crossing the road.

Oxfordshire County Council traffic engineers have promised some of the work will be carried out in the near future.

Mothers Tracy Roper, of Gladstone Road, and Sheena Whitehouse, 36, of Staunton Road, attended Oxford City Council's north east area committee on Tuesday (January 20(.

Both have children at the school and are worried for their safety.

Mrs Whitehouse, who also volunteers for Footsteps, a county council run scheme which trains parents to provide road safety education for primary school children with fellow Footsteps scheme tutor Trudie Krige said Oxfordshire County Council had promised the anti-skid road surface before Christmas.

She said: "That work has been put off until spring. Children will miss out on these things during the darkest and wettest time of year. We're expecting them to walk home alone as they get older. They're going to expect drivers to stop at the crossing. We fear there will be a death."

She said parents also want signs warning motorists they are approaching the school, which is set back from the road.

Ashley Prior, the county's deputy area traffic engineer, said it was planned to lay the anti-skid surface in April.