A mother appealing for more pedestrian crossings on a road where her daughter was hit by a car has been told a crossing will not be installed until 2004 -- unless more people are knocked down.

Sybil Sheringham Dibdin with daughter Emma

Emma Dibdin, 14, was hit by a car as she crossed Headley Way, which has only one crossing on the mile-long stretch of road, on her way to Headington Senior School.

As she crossed the road near the junction with Woodlands Road, she was thrown onto the car's windscreen and suffered cuts and bruises to her head and neck. She is now recovering at home.

Oxfordshire County Council plans to build three pedestrian crossings in Headley Way, but not until 2004, and it is unlikely that the work will be brought forward unless there are more accidents.

David Robertson, executive member for transport, said: "If there are a number of accidents in a single location, then we would try to revise our priorities when it comes to pedestrian crossings.

"We have to be flexible and respond to the latest information."

Emma's mother, Sybil Sheringham Dibdin, 51, of Staunton Road, Headington, urged the council to put in at least one crossing in Headley Way before 2004, before someone is killed. She said there was no pedestrian crossing between the London Road junction with Headley Way and the Marston area.

"My daughter could have been killed," she added, "and 2004 is far too long to wait.

"The county council should make a crossing in Headley Way before someone else is badly injured or killed.

"My daughter tried to run across the road and I am not blaming the driver because the accident was in no way the driver's fault.

"But I am furious with the council for not making it safe for schoolchildren to cross in an area where there are at least four schools."

Emma said: "It was raining and I was wearing my glasses and simply misjudged things.

"This definitely would not have happened if there had been a lollipop man or a crossing or something to help me cross the road.

"I'm sure this isn't the first time someone from my school has been hit by a car," she added.

James Gagg, county council transport planner, said there were 17 pedestrian crossings scheduled for the area, as part of the Headington and Marston Area Transport Strategy.

He said three were planned for Headley Way, including one near the junction with Woodlands Road, but they would not be built until the financial year 2004/5.