A woman who started a petition to improve the safety of The Brent bridge in Dartford has described the location as a “disaster waiting to happen” and a risk to vulnerable people in the community.

The petition follows an incident that occurred on October 22 when the A282 was closed for two hours after Kent Police were concerned for the welfare of a woman on the bridge.

Nicola Brasier, who lives in the area, started petition the which is called “Raise the railings on The Brent bridge to keep our vulnerable community safe.”

It currently has 346 signatures.

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She told the News Shopper: “I started the petition because it's not the first time this has happened, and I presume is not going to be the last.

“I live in a couple of doors down from the bridge and over the last six weeks, this is probably the fifth time that there have been concerns for someone.

“I have children it does worry me because the barriers across the bridge are so low that it would be a risk to anyone – even if it was an accident.

“Somebody has to take accountability for the fact that we have got a disaster waiting to happen.”

National Highways, who owns the Brent Bridge, said it is “always looking” at ways to improve the network, adding that it is happy to discuss working with the council on the delivery of an improvement scheme at this location.

Dartford Borough Council has said that it “supports any proposal from the highways authority to improve the design of the bridge” and “will happily take the lead and engage with Highways to see what they need from us to access funding”.

Nicola added: “If we can't make a difference to the mental health system or the NHS, the least we can do as a community is to make that bridge safer.

“My seven-year-old daughter said ‘they have to do something don’t they mummy?’ and she asks me each day how many people have signed the petition.”

National Highways spokesperson, Peter Phillips, said: “We take this issue to heart and work with a range of organisations with the aim that no-one attempts to take their life on our roads “We work closely with the Samaritans and are members of the National Suicide Prevention Alliance.

“We are always looking for ways to improve our practices, both for colleagues and the public, to enable prevention.”

National Highways added that it is “always looking at ways we can improve our network and we are happy to discuss working with the council on the delivery of an improvement scheme at this location should they bid for one through the Levelling Up Fund.”

A Dartford Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of this unfortunate case and would certainly support any proposal from the highways authority to improve the design of the bridge.

“The levelling-up fund is a relatively new source of funding so these sorts of improvements have obviously been funded more directly in the past but we wouldn’t want this important issue to get held up between two agencies so we will happily take the lead and engage with Highways to see what they need from us to access funding.

“There’s a significant underlying issue here so it's important for all of us to support to the health agencies and groups working with vulnerable people.

“These are difficult times for many and timely help for those in crisis is crucial. Our Council is not the primary provider of mental-health support but we will continue to play our part to improve the wellbeing and mental health of local people through the work we help fund and the activities we run.”

Samaritans are available to speak any time of day and night for free on 116 123.

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