A Somerset town may get a new pedestrian crossing thanks to a relentless campaign for action by the Bridgwater Mercury.

More than 1,000 people signed the weekly paper’s Road to Safety petition, which started after 11-year-old Ellis Langridge had his leg shattered by a car as he tried to cross the A38 in North Petherton.

Now, after months of pressure piled on the town council and Somerset County Highways, road chiefs have agreed to carry out a feasibility study on the project.

The move is a small but significant step towards the aims of the Mercury campaign.

Around one third of North Petherton’s community signed a petition on the Mercury’s website www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk, where all campaign stories were logged.

Reporter Ben Pike started the story after tracking down the accident victim’s mum, Kate Doig, and the pair worked together to devise a way to raise awareness of the issue.

He said: “It was a vital campaign because there is an infant and a junior school in the town which means a lot of young children with nowhere to cross.

“Ellis’ story was great to hang the whole battle on because out of his horrific injuries he wanted something positive to come.

“His mum, Kate, was relentless in collecting petition forms and we were in constant liaison about what stories would grab the attention of the town, to great effect.”

At the start of the campaign, Ben spoke to business, schools, police and parents to get their views on what difference a crossing would make.

The mere suggestion of it sparked a wave of enthusiasm, with around 100 people a week signing the petition.

Somerset County Highways is in the process of drawing up plans for the crossing and will report back to the town council before Christmas.