Worried residents last night called for traffic calming measures in a Wharfedale village after a serious accident was narrowly avoided.

A car swerved across the road and demolished a garden wall along Pool Bank New Road, in Pool-in-Wharfedale on Saturday, ending up just feet from the front door of Steve and Kerry Jones, and their four-year-old son Rory.

And about 50 villagers worried about the latest 'near miss' along roads used regularly by parents and schoolchildren met at the Half Moon Inn in Pool to discuss plans to improve road safety.

Two A-class roads disect Pool – the A658 and the A659 – with thousands of vehicles, including HGVs passing through every day.

But Leeds councillor Barry Anderson, who is supporting the residents, told them it could be difficult to get any new measures in place as there had not been a serious injury or death from an accident.

“I was asked, ‘are you saying someone has to die before something is done?’ and me being me, I said ‘yes’,” Coun Anderson said.

He told residents they should draw up a list of safety priorities to put to Leeds City Council and the highway authorities to have a better chance of action. A campaign group, the Pool-in-Wharfedale Safe Roads: Safe Lives team, wrote an open letter to residents to explain their concerns.

“Recent incidents have again highlighted the fact that traffic that passes through our village poses a constant threat to residents both young and old,” the letter said. “It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed through careless driving.

“It is quite clear that more could be done to control the traffic that passes through Pool in order to reduce the likelihood of a serious or fatal accident. Our aim is to galvanise the community of Pool on this issue and work in partnership with the local school, parish council and ward councillors.”

The campaign group’s e-mail address is pooltraffic@gmail.com or write to 11 Pool Bank New Road, Pool-in-Wharfedale, LS21 1EH or 65 Swallow Drive, Pool-in-Wharfedale, LS21 1RS.