A stretch of a Hitchin street has been labelled as a hazard for road users after three collisions between cars and cyclists in the last three months.

Periwinkle Lane has seen three serious crashes since September including the latest accident, when an 18-year-old cyclist was treated by paramedics after a collision with a Honda Jazz on Friday.

Councillor Judi Billing, who represents the town on both North Herts District Council and Herts County Council, has already used some of her County Hall locality budget funds to pay for extra signage.

She said: “It’s awful. It’s a terrible hazard. I’ve long been asking for a large stop sign, but I keep being told the situation isn’t bad enough.

“Many locals have already told me their fears. We need illuminated signage and a large stop sign.

“It’s a complete nightmare – it’s ridiculous to wait until someone dies before they agree to the correct signage.”

Mother of two Zoe Folbigg from Hitchin was involved in another Periwinkle Lane collision in September last year.

The car in which she was a passenger, which was being driven by her husband, was hit in the side by a vehicle which shot out from the roundabout.

Zoe said: “I have two young boys, and they were in the back crying. The sound of crunching metal was horrible. My husband hurt his knee and we were stunned and shocked – but it could have been far worse.

“A kind lady who lived on Periwinkle Lane heard the crash and helped us.

“We have since become friends – at the time she invited us into her house for a cup of tea and told us she would often hear crashes outside her house.

“The signage is invisible, people just don’t see it. The number of accidents on Periwinkle Lane indicate there is a huge problem.

“It fills me with dread and foreboding something really serious will occur soon – which no-one wants. It’s a death roundabout.”

A spokesman for Herts County Council said: “While we would like to be in a position to be able to address all road safety concerns, there are limited funds.

“Priority is given to work which is most urgently needed and which has the greatest potential to reduce the number and severity of collisions occurring.”