A MAN is campaigning for traffic calming measures on a ‘deathtrap’ road after his puppy was run over by a van.

Stephen James says he was walking his one-year-old dachshund Molly over a pedestrian crossing on the B3187 in Tonedale when she was struck by a van.

The van followed an initial car that “shot over” the crossing, Stephen called for Molly to return to his side but she took the call as a sign to continue. She was then run over by the van.

Molly sustained a broken pelvis and was skinned across one side of her body.

Stephen, from Tonedale, said: “The wheel went right over and crushed her. I have not got children, Molly was all I had and now she’s gone.

“It was the worst 45 minutes of my life, my poor Molly was so frightened.”

Molly was taken to the vets after the incident on November 26 but was put to sleep.

“Signing the papers to have her put down was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I feel lost without her.”

The beloved dachshund was hit at about 5.30 pm on what Stephen described as a “wet and windy” evening.

Stephen continued: “At night the pillars by the crossing tend to dazzle drivers so they can not see if someone is trying to cross. If there was a ramp or a speed bump before the crossing, the van would have slowed down and Molly may have not been hit.

“That crossing is a deathtrap. If there are not changes on that road soon, somebody will be killed.”

Stephen said one of his friends was also hit by a car recently at a pedestrian crossing in Taunton, which spurred him on to campaign for changes in Tonedale so the road does not see anymore casualties.

Stephen posted on Facebook about Molly’s death and received “over 20” messages from Wellington locals who said they have also faced near misses around the town.

“It is a now a daily occurrence to have near misses by cars in Wellington. It has gotten worse recently due to the dark evenings and wet weather. The other night I nearly got hit again, it is a massive problem across the whole area.”

As well as reports of near road accidents in Wellington, Stephen has been overwhelmed with kind messages from the community after the death of Molly.

“The support I have received from people across Wellington has been phenomenal, I have had people I have never spoken to before come out of the woodwork and send me kind messages about Molly’s passing.

“It has gone through the town like wildfire, I have people coming up to me on the street wishing their condolences.”

The Wellington Weekly approached Somerset Council about implementing road traffic calming measures around the pedestrian crossing.

They said: “In the first instance we suggest this is raised with the town council for their awareness, we’re always happy to discuss road safety concerns which local councils have raised with us.”