Barrow soft play area chief's fears over road safety outside his business

Little Subs owner Rick Gwilliam is calling on motorists using the car park and accessing the Royal Mail sorting office in Barrow to be more considerate of pedestrians and children crossing the access road next to the soft play area's entrance.

Mr Gwilliam, who opened Little Subs in 2013 with an investment of £250,000, says there has been a number of near misses where toddlers have almost been hit by a car. Up to 1,000 children a week visit Little Subs, a figure which can double during the school holidays.

All of our customers are aware of the issue and it's something that is mentioned to staff on a regular basis," the businessman said.

"There's been a number of near misses where toddlers have almost been knocked down because a car is not paying attention or is driving too fast."

Mr Gwilliam, 36, said he has even considered installing a speed bump at his own expense, but decided against the idea because of the public liability implications.

The father-of-four added: "I know with my own children that kids do just dart off sometimes, they don't understand the dangers of the road like we do and it can be hard to keep an eye on them if you've got two or three with you.

"It's only a matter of time before a child is hit by a car."

The access road linking Rawlinson Street to the car park for Little Subs, and leading to the rear of Royal Mail's base, is understood to be under the control of Cumbria County Council.

The council's highways sub committee is next set to meet at the Nat Tait Centre on August 25, and Mr Gwilliam has been invited to attend to put his concerns to councillors.

The Evening Mail understands county council's highways engineers will consider taking steps to make the road safer if the political will and strength of feeling from concerned parents is great enough.