A FRIEND of a woman who died after she was hit by a rubbish lorry in Worcester City Centre has backed calls for tighter restrictions on vehicles driving through the area.

Len Presley, a close friend of Sylvia Russell, who died in the Shambles last September, said he was appalled to see lorries and other vehicles are still driving through the city centre when he saw the front page of Saturday's Worcester News.

The story reported on calls for a rethink of traffic safety in the city centre, after concerned residents labelled it "an accident waiting to happen" for pedestrians.

Mr Presley, who lives in Bransford, said: "It's disgusting that vehicles are still using pedestrian zones to cut through the city centre. It seems that nothing will be done until someone else is seriously injured or killed.

"I would like to see something done to make it safer for people. Seven months on from Sylvia's death and the grief is still with me."

Your Worcester News reported last week on the concerns of local mum, Sasha Bailey-Dean, who said she was left stunned after spending a morning in the city to see the volume of vehicles driving on supposedly pedestrianised streets.

Mrs Bailey-Dean, aged 34, was so taken aback by the amount of traffic driving around city centre streets - including outside M&S in the High Street - between 10am and 11am that she felt compelled to take videos and photos of the lorries, 4x4s and vans on show.

Current regulations prohibit vehicles from using pedestrianised city centre routes between 10.30am and 4.30pm, but there have been calls for restrictions to start earlier.

A survey sent out after the death of Miss Russell by Worcester's Labour parliamentary candidate Joy Squires asked householders if pedestrianised hours should be extended.

Of 224 respondents, 157 said they should, with more than half urging Worcester's pedestrianised areas to ban vehicles as early as 8am or 8.30am.

Ninety-eight people responded by saying they felt in danger in the city's pedestrianised areas.