A YOUNG woman who “miraculously” survived after she was hit by a car while walking her horse is calling for the speed limit to be cut where it happened.

Kirsty Hopkins, 22, was seriously injured after a car hit her and the shire horse she was leading along Watery Lane in Sea, near Ilminster, in September last year.

The incident left Kirsty with a broken shin, a crushed ankle, breaks to her pelvis and shoulder, and cuts to her face.

Now she is calling for the road, which currently carries the national speed limit of 60mph, to be reduced to 40mph before someone else is hurt or even killed.

Kirsty, who has lived at Dowlish Ford for six years, said: “It was horrendous – I can’t walk on that road now and my horse is terrified of traffic.

“You hear cars and motorbikes driving so fast, and I’m just waiting for the day when instead of hearing the screech of brakes you just hear a smash.”

Kirsty said there are a number of people who ride their horses along the road, including young children, and she fears that unless the speed limit is reduced a tragedy could be on the cards.

She said: “There’s no need for people to drive that fast, and when people hit the sharp bends they don’t have time to stop.”

Kirsty’s friend, Chopper, was first on the scene after the crash and said it was a miracle she was not killed.

He said: “There definitely needs to be a lower speed limit and some mobile speed cameras.

“We’ve only been here one year, but the speed some of the traffic goes down there you can hear their brakes screech.

“The number of times people come down the road speeding, someone’s going to get killed.”

The pair say they have contacted Somerset County Council and the police to apply for a reduction in the speed limit, but so far without any luck.

A county council spokesman said: “Somerset Road Safety isn’t aware of any issues at this location.

“When requests are received to consider a change in speed limits, road safety officers will carry out an in-depth investigation of the area, which will include examining collision data, obtaining a speed profile of the location, and then formal discussion with both the engineering and traffic management teams to see if action should be taken.”