Parents concerned for their children’s safety will protest the council after it recommended a footbridge damaged by a lorry be permanently removed.

The footbridge at Tartar Hill in Portsmouth Road, Cobham, was removed after a lorry crashed in to it and the council launched a consultation on a suitable alternative.

Options put forward by Elmbridge Council included doing nothing and encouraging people to use alternative crossings already in place, putting in a zebra crossing and several other alternatives.

However, some parents who used the bridge, which served as a main crossing point for those travelling to St Andrew’s School, said they did not feel any of the options put forward were suitable.

The council concluded it was not appropriate to do nothing and recommended the central island near the health centre be modified to better accommodate pedestrians and a central island be located where the bridge stood.

The proposals will be discussed on Thursday, June 14, but parents have already expressed their worries and plan to stage a protest at the civic centre meeting.

They want to see a traffic light crossing to get primary school pupils safely across the busy road.

Portsmouth Road resident Alissa Plane said: “They stand to save and even earn money from doing nothing while putting schoolchildren and residents’ lives at risk on such a busy major A-road. We believe it is ill thought out and doesn’t meet the needs of a satisfactory outcome.”

She said the consultation was misleading and not all residents in the road received the council flyer which detailed the plans.

In a letter first written to the council in February, Mrs Plane also said: “You are very fortunate the fatalities didn’t occur last month when a high lorry crashed into the pedestrian bridge.

“There were no signs indicating the bridge was there, warning of a low hazard and were fortunate it wasn’t an hour or so earlier when children were using both the footbridge and island crossing after school.

“There has already been a potentially catastrophic incident where you were lucky no one was hurt. Do not wait until the next time.

“You have a chance to prevent a fatality rather than deal with the aftermath of one and [we] would urge you to take responsibility in playing your part of making the roads safer.”