ANGRY parents say they and their children are being forced to dice with death after the county council closed off the pavement leading to their children's school.

The kerb on one side of Bilford Road, Worcester, has been cordoned off for the past few weeks while work is carried out to refurbish the nearby household waste site.

It means mums and dads walking their children to Perdiswell Primary School are having to cross the busy main road to walk on the other side.

But they say cars tear round a blind bend leaving them to take their lives into their hands when making the crossing.

Worried mum-of-three Sue Biddle, from Bilford Road, said her five-year-old son Adam was nearly hit by a car on Wednesday morning.

"We thought it was ok to cross but as Adam got into the road a car came round the bend and had to swerve out of the way to miss him.

"When the driver swerved he headed for me - I was pushing my newborn son Max in a pushchair and had to pull it back out of the way. I was in shock. It was awful."

Jo Bentley, of Woodland Road, said Wednesday's incident was the last straw.

"It was terrifying," the mum-of-three said. "What is worse is that the children have just been taught about road safety at school and now we are having to go against that by shouting quick, run' when they cross.

"I've been told that this is to carry on until the end of November. If this is the case we desperately need the council to erect some signs telling drivers to slow down otherwise there is going to be a serious accident."

Tom Comerford, Worcestershire County Council's district liason officer for Worcester, said: "We have been made aware of the issue and therefore a temporary footway will be provided next to the pavement on Bilford Road as soon as possible.

"The facility will prevent pedestrians from having to cross the road to use the pavement and it will provide a safer alternative at all times during the day."

The work to the household waste site is expected to be ongoing for a couple of weeks.