Children's lives have been put at risk by crossings designed to make the route to a new primary school in Wantage safer, according to parents and governors.

Pelican crossings in Ormond Road and Newbury Street were branded unsafe by parents after they saw at least three people almost knocked over by vehicles.

They said traffic lights were not properly synchronised, causing people to walk into the line of oncoming traffic.

Traffic chaos hit some of the town's busiest roads as children made their way over the crossings for their first day at the new Wantage Primary School, in Newbury Street, on June 23.

A police officer and a traffic warden had to help children cross the road safely.

Parents also complained that people had tripped because slopes leading to the crossings, installed last month, were too steep.

Oxfordshire County Council said it was "fairly normal" to experience difficulties with new lights. It had now changed the sequencing.

Arshad Khan, of the council's highways department, said the slopes would be investigated and improved if there were problems.

Malcolm Collins, 53, of Orchard Way, whose daughters Naomi, Rachel and Alice attend the school, said urgent action was needed.

He said: "The crossings are meant to improve safety, but they are an accident waiting to happen.

"The slopes are a very big problem. There's no need for them to be so steep."

Joanna Clayton-Jones, of Newbury Street, who relies on a motorised wheelchair to get around, said: "I cannot go up the slope on one side of Ormond Road because my chair nearly tips over. It's extremely dangerous."

Plans for the 420-pupil school, which was operating from split sites in Wantage for two years, were approved on condition that three crossings were built. One of the crossings in Portway was still being built on June 23.

Tony Dixon, vice chairman of the school governors, said: "The council has had two years to sort this out and we can't believe things have been left to the last minute.

"Children's lives are being put at risk."