A class of primary school pupils has joined a road safety campaign by hand-delivering letters to their MP.

The youngsters from Selsted CE Primary School near Hawkinge decided to send a message to Folkestone parliamentarian Damian Collins after former head girl Maya McFadden was hit by a car in Densole.

She was left in hospital with a collapsed lung, broken ribs, cuts and bruises, and a badly-sprained left leg in a cast after the accident on Canterbury Road in May.

The 11-year-old Folkestone School for Girls pupil is now making a good recovery - and her parents Sean and Caroline McFadden are determined the harrowing incident will lead to improved safety measures on what they say is a "notoriously dangerous" stretch of road between Folkestone and Canterbury.

Selsted headteacher Angela Woodgate says she has long had concerns about the A260, which is a regular scene of traffic accidents and is the main route to the rural school.

"Maya was our head girl last year and so means a great deal to us," she said.

"In my seven years as headteacher, in addition to Maya, we have had a parent die in a motorbike accident as well as numerous accidents at the junction to Stockham Lane where parents stop to turn in - cars are regularly rear ended because cars drive too fast or don't pay attention.

"For the children Maya was the icing on the cake and they felt they wanted to take action.

"As part of their English work on persuasive writing they decided to do something about it. They felt that writing the letters would not have enough impact and therefore decided, with their class teacher Mrs Hills, that delivering them would make the campaign more effective."

A strikingly similar accident occurred on the same stretch of road in 2016 when an 11-year-old Folkestone Academy pupil was also hit by a car when crossing Canterbury Road.

Maya's parents have now started a petition calling for the highways authorities to introduce new safety measures on the A260, and so far more than 900 people have added their signatures online.

"We want a crossing, some lights, speed reduction, speed cameras, anything to make this road safe for children and residents," Caroline said.

Kent Police investigated the circumstances of the accident on May 17 but no offences were recorded.