A WALKWAY to school described a "death trap" by parents was the scene of a car accident.

Parents are protesting against West Berkshire Council’s proposals to axe the Mortimer to Willink School bus service from March to save £123,500 each year.

They say the alternative route West Berkshire Council suggest children should take is unsafe as it forces them to pass through dense woodland and over the 60mph Goring Lane and Hollybush Lane in Burghfield Common where there are no crossings or pavements.

The zig-zag junction which splits the two roads was the scene of a car accident last Wednesday morning.

It took place around the same time children would be walking the near two-mile route between the villages under the council’s plans.

Nobody was injured in the accident, but Gina Blackie from Mortimer says it proved the route is dangerous to walk.

“The car was hit by another car as it tried to cross Goring Road and was shunted off onto the proposed footpath,” she said.

“Parents know this route is unsafe and here is the proof.

"We don’t want to see our children injured. Perhaps the council will listen to us now.”

Parents clogged up the roads last Monday morning by driving their children to school to highlight the congestion problems that axing the bus service would cause.

More than 200 parents, who have formed a Save Our Buses protest group, also attended a public meeting at Willink School recently where WBC officers and local councillors discussed the  controversial plans.

Dave Kilshaw, a parent who joined the mass drive, said: “It clearly showed that the increased volume of traffic from the lack of school buses would make the roads around Burghfield very congested and clearly put the lives of students at risk.

"We saw commuters in a hurry to get to work behaving dangerously in their cars, mounting verges and taking risks at points where the council’s proposed "safe walking route" crosses Goring Lane and along Hollybush Lane.

"Withdrawing the buses will create a death trap if it goes ahead and undoubtedly be followed by the inevitable injury or worse fatality.

"We all hope West Berkshire councillors see sense and decide against this cancellation.”

Another worried parent, Viv Harris, added: "What worried me was not so much the long time it would take to drive the kids to school with long queues of traffic, but on Hollybush Lane when I went across the Tesco lights there were two lines of solid traffic.

"This means there is no proper verge and no crossing point for the children to negotiate the supposed safe walking route.

"To consider this an acceptable pedestrian route is absurd and points to the fact that West Berkshire Council have not thought through the impact of their proposals.

"More people will drive, which equals chaos on the roads, making it a hazardous route for any child to walk. It is mad and highly likely to end in a serious accident."

The bus service cut is one of 48 cost-cutting measures being considered after WBC were told to save £10.8 million from its budget next year.

WBC will make a decision at the end of the consultation process this month before cost-cutting plans are rubber stamped at the full council meeting in March 2016.