A NEAR miss incident on a Tavistock road has sparked a call for action by residents and staff at Tavistock Hospital, who fear a fatality in the area before long. Michael Peach, who lives near the hospital on Spring Hill, said the teenaged motorcyclist involved in an incident outside his home last Thursday morning was ?very, very lucky? not to have been seriously injured. Mr Peach said: ?This delivery van had been going up Spring Hill and had straddled the white iines ? the young motorcyclist had to swerve to avoid the van and skidded off the bike. ?I heard this thud and rushed out to find a frightened old lady on the opposite side of the road trying to hold up the traffic.? Mr Peach said the motorcyclist, on his way to collect his GCSE results from Tavistock College, luckily only suffered superficial injuries ? but was very shaken by the incident. ?I think he was really quite frightened by it,? he said. Mr Peach said he has contacted Devon County Council on several occasions to ask that something be done about speeding traffic on the hill, but to no avail. ?I live in the last house up the hill, before the hospital. I?ve a seven-year-old daughter and you really have to run the gauntlet to get her across the road in the mornings to walk to school. ?They just won?t have it that it?s dangerous. There?s always an excuse, but I can?t understand what the criteria is to do something ? it seems bizarre. ?The hospital?s campaigned to get something done but they just get ignored too. We have elderly people coming out from there, their reaction times aren?t so good and I?m amazed something far worse hasn?t happened.? Mr Peach said with the increase in houses on the north side of Tavistock, pedestrians and traffic were bound to increase too. ?I really fear for people coming out from the hospital, and schoolchildren walking down there too ? I would have thought anyone with an ounce of commonsense would realise this was a deserving cause,? he said. Sgt Bob Hughes, of Tavistock Police, confirmed the incident had been reported and appealed for witnesses to come forward. He also urged motorists to treat the area with caution. Sgt Hughes said: ?Although the area is within a 30mph speed limit, that is a maximum speed and drivers should be aware that driving around those bends at 30mph is very inappropriate.? Philippa Bridle, locality manager at Tavistock Hospital, confirmed she had requested action by the county in the past to improve safety in the Spring Hill area ? she said investigations were made but nothing had been done. Ms Bridle said: ?It?s a very dangerous bend on a hill. It?s been a concern for years ? there have been quite a few near misses there. ?It would have been all right 100 years ago when there were horses and carts, but it?s a nightmare now, and with the increased traffic with the new housing it?s only going to get worse. ?Certainly, anything the highways department could do would be appreciated very much by us and our patients, for those walking as well as driving.? A Devon County Council spokesman said: ?The county council will review any report the police make on this collision before considering what action, if any, is necessary.?