LITTLE Ashley Brakspear is "lucky to be alive" after he was in collision with a van near his Newport home.

The five-year-old, from Moorland Park, had to have stitches after suffering cuts to his face, elbow, hand and foot in the accident last Tues-day. Police are not taking an action against the van driver and there is no suggestion that speed was a factor in the crash.

But Ashley's mum, Bernadette Latham, be-lieves there should be traffic calming measures on the estate and somewhere safe for the children to play.

She said: "Ashley is one lucky little boy. He's lucky to be alive. "I've had to borrow a buggy to push him around because he can't walk at the moment.

"I accept some blame because he shouldn't have been down on the road, but I thought he was playing in his friend's garden.

"All of a sudden the council men who were cutting the grass came to the gate and said a little boy had been knocked over.

"I flew to the end of the road and saw Ashley with blood everywhere. "The ambulance came and took us to the Royal Gwent Hospital and then we were transferred to Morriston Hospital in Swansea.

"I can't believe it happened to Ashley, I was devastated." Now she is calling for traffic calming measures to improve safety on the estate.

She said: "The speed limit should be 20mph maximum and there should be speed ramps along this road.

"There's nothing here where the children can play. "The park has been vandalised, so they're going to make tree houses and dens."

Neighbour Brian Higgs said: "Houses over the other side have got traffic calming measures. We pay rent to the council for our houses and get nothing. The estate is 27 years old and we've got no pavements."