AN elderly woman in Odiham suffered “serious injuries” after being struck by a car on the High Street.

Hampshire Police were called to Odiham High Street at 4.55pm by a member of the public reporting a collision involving a car and a pedestrian.

Upon arrival a Citroen car was found to have collided with the woman in her 70s, who had suffered serious injuries to her leg.

With both police and ambulance on the scene, a South Central Ambulance spokesperson said the woman was conscious throughout and was taken to North Hants Hospital in Basingstoke for treatment where she was expected to make a full recovery.

However, the incident did raise further questions about the safety of pedestrians in the village following a couple of near misses during busy periods of the day.

Residents online have recalled how reckless driving during busy school runs in the morning and evening have seen people drive at dangerous speeds, including people cutting red lights on the High Street as people prepare to cross.

One Odiham resident told The Herald: “We moved here two years ago from a rural village in Surrey and I am honestly staggered at the weight of traffic travelling through Odiham.  

“It is a village but you would not know it.  

“People use it as a cut-through because they cannot be bothered to drive around the village on the dual carriageway provided.

“Cars thunder through here fast when there is little traffic and at night cars often use it as a race track.”

Describing the High Street at times as being like a “lay-by next to a dual carriageway”, the worried resident thinks a solution may not be that hard to find.

“I would like to see a census carried out and appropriate action taken to ensure the tranquillity of this beautiful village and the safety of the residents, who live here, many of whom are elderly.  

“We need road narrowing, a 20-30mph speed limit and access only/road narrows signs at both ends of the village.

“I am told that this road narrowing has been considered in the past but that it was discounted due to not being ‘in keeping’ with a historical village.  

“My argument would be: ‘are heavy lorries thundering through the village ‘in keeping’? I know which I would prefer.”