A £1.6 million footbridge is to be built on a stretch of West Sussex road which has claimed the lives of 11 children.

Many others have been seriously injured crossing the busy A27 near Boundstone Community College, Lancing, since 1984.

The last fatality was 13-year-old Scott Purdie who died four days after he was in collision with a van as he crossed the road on his way to school in February 1997.

The Highways Agency has given the go-ahead for the existing Pelican crossing to be replaced by a footbridge paid for by Government money.

Two bungalows in nearby Pende Close will have to be demolished to make way for an access ramp. They have already been bought by the Highways Agency.

Adur District Council has received objections from nearby residents who fear the loss of the Pelican crossing would make safety on the dual carriageway worse, not better.

They believe traffic speed will increase once it has gone because drivers will no longer have to stop or slow down for the lights at the crossing.

They told the council the money would be better spent on speed cameras and reducing the speed limit to 30mph.

The Highways Agency is talking to residents about a wall and trees as a screen to safeguard their privacy.

Two footbridge and subway options were presented as part of consultations on the scheme. Most people preferred a footbridge.

Scott Purdie's mother has welcomed the choice. Chris Purdie, 48, of Nyewood Lane, Bognor, said: "It will not bring my son back again but in a way I feel he has not died in vain. There is now some point to his death.

"I would hate any parent to go through what I had to go through. Scott came home for lunch that day. The last memory I have of him is cycling down the path and waving goodbye."

Adur District Council planning committee is expected not to raise any objections to the Highways Agency scheme when it meets on July 15.