A ROUNDABOUT has been dubbed the worst in Britain as confused motorists drive straight through it.
Locals have demanded action after a series of pile-ups on the junction, which they say are down to unclear road markings.
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Government officials have promised to make changes as residents complain that people can sail over the “un-magic roundabout” near Hirwaun, South Wales, without even noticing it.
It comes after an eight-year-old boy was injured on New Year’s Eve in a collision involving three cars.
The boy’s grandmother Angela Williams was travelling with her husband, daughter and grandson, named Leeroy, at the time of the smash.
She believed that the driver that crashed into them could not see the junction on the “pitch black” road and so didn’t slow down.
Angela said: “He’s traumatised terribly. It’s going to take him a while to get over this.”
She called for better signage and road markings to make the junction more clear after the young lad suffered a head injury, whiplash and a cut to his neck.
It was put in as a temporary measure while a new flythrough road is built, but local motorists say it’s “dangerous”.
Local councillors Karen Morgan and Adam Owain Rogers said in a statement today: “We attended a meeting this morning with the contractors and again shared the many concerns we have received about incidents and near-misses.
“Future Valleys stated that signage is adequate and they have recently installed extra lighting. They also explained the constraints to making any other changes to the roundabout (space being the main factor).
“If work progresses as planned there will be changes to the layout of the roundabout in the next six to eight weeks which hopefully will reduce the risk of drivers who treat it as a straight-through road.”
They added that Future Valleys had said they were unaware of any of the accidents or near-misses they had brought up.
However, this approach was slammed online as commenters believed it didn’t go far enough to address safety concerns.
One woman wrote: “Let’s hope we can get through the next eight weeks without there being a fatality.
“Every day there are near-misses and a lorry went straight through today leaving me in the middle of the roundabout.
“Will report it. I know my daughter and another car owner whose cars have been written off in last three weeks.”
Another fuming motorist said: “I witnessed a very, very near miss yesterday. A car just kept driving through the roundabout as if there was no junction or roundabout visible.”
A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said that roadworks are ongoing for the next “planned traffic management switch” to allow the construction of a grade-separated junction and two bridges.
They added that the new layout will remove the roundabout’s eastern arm and “make it much more obvious there is a roundabout present to reduce the risk of drivers missing the give-way line.”
