Little Daniel Taylor gave his mother the shock of her life when he set out for a stroll with his best buddy.

For the toddlers are just 21 months old and the pair had escaped the safety of Daniel's back garden for a walk across busy Leeds Road in Ilkley.

The boys used the pedestrian crossing outside the Chinese take-away next door to cross the road and, luckily, vehicles stopped. One driver even got out of his car to shepherd the pair to safety.

Daniel's frantic mother Liz Taylor ran from the house to see the traffic snarled up in both directions. She said the incident happened after she had met up with other mothers at her home last week. She was in the lounge and the children were in another room.

She said: "We were in the lounge and I realised it had gone too quiet.

"I rushed outside - he and his friend had crossed the crossing - I felt sick.

"The cars had stopped for them. I assumed a friend had locked the gate to the drive.

"My son and his friend caused quite a tailback whilst we collected them. I am extremely grateful that the cars on this occasion stopped and do not like to think what may have happened had the cars been going any faster."

Because of the heavy traffic on the road, Mrs Taylor had taught him road safety drills.

She said: "I have taught him to stop and hold hands and wait till the traffic stops.

"A man in a car had stopped and got out. I would really like to thank him. I was so grateful to have him back in one piece. It caused rather a mess but drivers would rather have that than have to give evidence on how a child got knocked down.

"I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the kind person who took the trouble to stop and help them. If it had been somewhere else the traffic might not have stopped. I am glad for the crossing being there. It shocked me and made me feel we need to do something."

Mrs Taylor has lived in the area for five years and said speeding was an issue. She said: "On a regular basis I have been crossing and mid-way across when cars will fly past despite the fact that I am already crossing. This is usually because they are going too fast to stop."

Mrs Taylor called for the debate about the Ilkley bypass to be opened up again because she thinks that Leeds Road cannot cope with the amount of vehicles using the A65.

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