Safety fears after crash outside Portsmouth nursery sees Uber car slam into a garden wall

Fearful residents living in Tregaron Avenue, in Drayton, issued the plea following the latest collision in the street this afternoon, which saw a woman needing hospital treatment.

A black Uber Mercedes pulled out of Dysart Avenue and smashed into a Vauxhall Corsa travelling down Tregaron Avenue.

The impact forced the cab to veer across the road and into the garden wall of Denise and Paul Spybey’s family home.

Mrs Spybey, who has lived in the street for almost 13 years, said this was the second time a taxi had crashed into her wall.

‘Something needs to be done before someone dies,’ said the 60-year-old grandmother of one. ‘This road is too dangerous. People don’t stop where they’re supposed to.

‘Last year a little girl was knocked over by a car and this is the second time we have had a taxi crash into our wall.’

The collision took place shortly before 1pm. Mrs Spybey added she had just sat down to have her lunch when she heard an ‘almighty bang’.

‘I saw this plume of smoke and dust from the brick where the taxi had crashed through our wall,’ she said.

‘I couldn’t believe it. We’re lucky this wall is here otherwise the car could have hit our house.’

Police and paramedics were called to the scene. Both cars involved in the collision were seriously damaged and needed to be recovered.

The female driver of the Corsa, a 21-year-old woman, was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital with minor injuries, South Central Ambulance Service said.

The crash happened just meters away from the Dysart Nursery where about 40 young children were playing.

Emma Atkins, manager of the site, said all the youngsters were safe inside when the collision happened and has since urged motorists to slow down.

‘It’s quite a dangerous junction outside,’ she said. ‘People drive too fast down Tregaron Avenue – it’s only meant to be a 20mph road.

‘If someone pulls out you can’t stop in time. A young boy was knocked off his bike last year.

‘There are schools at either end of the street too. So people need to slow down.’

Portsmouth City Council’s former highways boss, Councillor Simon Bosher – who represents Drayton and Farlington – said the authority was looking into ‘traffic calming measures’.

Cllr Bosher added that drivers were recklessly using the road as a ‘rat run’ and said: ‘Today’s accident serves to demonstrate the urgency of the situation.’

Builder Paul Spybey said stop signs on the junctions leading into Tregaron Avenue could make a difference and added: ‘People just see the road ahead and think they can keep going.

‘But a policeman told me that unless someone gets killed, the local authority won’t do anything.’

Nobody has been arrested, Hampshire Constabulary confirmed. A spokeswoman added enquiries were ‘on-going’.