The politician overseeing the £16million transformation of a Kent town's ring road says he remains unconvinced it will work.

And Cllr Keith Ferrin (Con), Kent County Council's cabinet member for highways, has vowed to build pedestrian crossings and put in signs if the controversial shared space experiment in Ashford leads to accidents.

Cllr Ferrin said he was unwilling to tolerate anything that endangered either pedestrians or motorists and would step in if the concept showed signs of being unsafe.

His comments come after one of the design gurus behind the scheme insisted the idea of removing signs, crossings and lights would have the effect of naturally slowing down traffic around the town.

Ben Hamilton Baille visited Ashford recently and at a public meeting highlighted how a similar project in Kensington, London had reduced incidents involving pedestrians.

But Cllr Ferrin said he continued to have doubts about the idea and in a downbeat assessment claimed: "I do not regard it as the most triumphant piece of work we have ever done.

"I’m cautious about the whole concept and have been from the start. People are comparing it to other places in ways I do not think are apt, like Kensington in London [which has a similar road scheme]. The speed of traffic in London is much slower anyway.

"I will not hesitate to put in pedestrian crossings if they are needed."