METAL railings destroyed when a runaway lorry narrowly missed hitting a Worcestershire pub have still not been repaired more than a year later.

The railings were flattened after a lorry carrying cement powder stopped inches away from the the Crown Pub in Kempsey, near Worcester, last April.

At the time of the near-miss, one eyewitness said he thought the presence of the railings had saved people from injury.

Speaking then, Gareth Price said: "I think it the lorry would have gone into the pub if the railings hadn't been there.

"A lot of people whinge about them because they are ugly, but they certainly did their job."

Since then, although the damaged railings have been removed, nothing has been put in their place and concerns have been raised about the safety of the footpath, which is next to the busy main road and is often used by children walking to and from a nearby primary school.

Kempsey parish council chairman David Harrison said: "It's quite a danger as the footpath is at least a foot below the level of the road and the railings are there to protect pedestrians.

"With lots of primary school children taking that particular road because the school is on that side, I would think replacing the railings is a necessity."

Despite the fears, Worcestershire County Council has refused to give any timescale for doing the work.

A county council spokesman said: "We are aware of the problem and it's on our list of priorities and work will be done in due course."

He said replacing the railings was not considered a priority and would have to work its way up the list.