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A UK-first roundabout that cost £2.3million to build was forced to close days after opening due to a crash. The design built on Fendon Road in Cambridge was the first "Dutch-style" roundabout in the country intended to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists.

The new roundabout was put together in a bid to enhance safety, but was forced to close after an incident just days later. Shortly after its launch in 2020, a hit-and-run driver crashed into a zebra crossing beacon. The route was forced to close for 10 days after it opened and drivers have pointed out safety cocnerns since.

Local resident Ken Riley previously accused the council of not taking into account the concerns around electric scooters.

He said: "They approach this roundabout at full speed, and they go straight on to the cycle track; motorists don't have time to look around before they whizz across in front of them or behind them."

Meanwhile, Neville Silverston, the founder of the emergency rescue service Magpas, stressed that the roundabout was hazardous.

Neville said that he had seen motorists making emergency stops and getting into rear-end collisions.

He previously said: "I don't think the design has any safety features for the people it was intended to be safe for. It's a very busy roundabout and motorists use it at quite high speed. It's too much for even an experienced driver to take in, with cyclists and pedestrians coming from left and right, and vehicles from the right."

A consultation was held before the roundabout was fitted, with residents backing the new scheme. According to Cambridgeshire County Council, 433 people supported the proposal for the Dutch-style roundabout, with just 115 opposed.

Ian Bates, chairman of the council's highways and transport committee, previously reacted to the concern.

He said: "No roundabout can 100% have no accident ever - I think that's almost an impossible task.

"But the evidence we got from the work which was being done in the Netherlands all indicated that... the Dutch-style roundabout assisted cyclists and brought attention to drivers of cyclists in general."

Cambridge is no longer the only Dutch-style roundabout in the UK, with further schemes now installed in locations such as Sheffield and Chichester.