A PENSIONER has spoken of her horror after she saw her husband ‘tumble through the air’ when hit by a van.

Sheila Judson watched in horror as Eric, 79, was left critically injured when a van struck him as he reached into his car to pick up a bag of shopping.

Mrs Judson, who was a passenger in the car, said: “It threw him about 10 yards up the road. The van hit the back of the car before it hit him. He’d been at the boot a few minutes before. If he’d still been there he would have died.”

Mr Judson was taken to Royal Preston Hospital with injuries including a fractured pelvis, broken ribs, internal bleeding and a collapsed lung after the incident in Harrison Drive, Colne, last Thursday evening. He is now in a stable condition. Campaigners have called for more to be done to address traffic problems on the estate.

Police are still investigating and have not made any arrests, but campaigners say the latest accident highlights the need for traffic-calming.

Vivary Bridge councillor Ian Tweedie said: "I hope the resident makes a full recovery but the campaign to have Speed Indicator Devices (SPIDS) installed along the route of the rat-run continues.

“Accidents can still happen at low speeds and speed cameras and SPIDS are not a panacea. However, the overwhelming evidence shows that where such devices are installed, the number of serious accidents drops by a quarter." Mr Judson’s daughter, Sharon Farthing, said more should be done to prevent accidents on the estate.

She said: “It’s not good enough. I’m very angry and so are all the family. To get to this stage of his life and have this happen to him, it’s just disgusting.”

Neighbour Craig Bradshaw, 33, said that problems with traffic on the estate caused him to worry about his young son. He said: “This accident might be the first but it probably won’t be the last.”

The van that hit Mr Judson was driven by a 25-year-old man who stopped at the scene.