'Horrific' roundabout faces upgrade calls after cyclist is run over by bus

THERE have been fresh calls to upgrade a "horrific" busy roundabout after a cyclist was left seriously injured in a crash with a bus.

The 35-year-old Chinese woman had to be freed from underneath the double-decker by firefighters using airbags and specialist stabilising equipment following the accident yesterday morning at Crewe Toll. She was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to the ERI.

Police are still investigating the crash and questioned workers at the two Selex Galileo offices in a bid to find witnesses, but locals have told how the roundabout is so busy at peak times, it has become an accident waiting to happen.

Inverleith councillor Lesley Hinds said: "The first time I moved to Edinburgh 30 years ago, I had an accident there in my car. It's such a dangerous roundabout.

"I know originally that part of the planning application for the Selex site was to put traffic lights on the roundabout and it seems to have been dropped. I will certainly be suggesting that the whole light proposal should be put back on the agenda. Anybody who uses the roundabout regularly will know it's horrific to get round."

The cyclist was struck by a number 21 Lothian bus travelling east towards Ferry Road when the accident took place at around 9am. Police closed Ferry Road to the west of the roundabout and the West Granton Access Road, but the road reopened at 11.15am.

Selex Galileo engineer Laurence Stewart, 53, said: "I crossed between the two buildings and saw that there was a bus stopped and someone lying underneath the front of the bus just ahead of the front wheels, and there was a large crowd of people. The cyclist was completely under the bus."

Another member of staff, who did not want to be named, added: "I think it's definitely a contender for part-time traffic lights. At peak times there's a cacophony of noise, horns and so on. It beggars belief that it's not a daily occurrence."

A police spokesman said an investigation was under way and appealed for witnesses to the accident. He said: "This has been a very serious collision which has left a woman with severe injuries which required urgent medical attention.

"We are asking for anyone who was in the Crewe Toll area at the time and saw the incident to contact police to help with our enquiries."

A spokesman for Lothian Buses said the firm was assisting the police and was also carrying out an internal investigation.