A PEDESTRIAN who was hit by a bus said the area is not safely signposted.

Louise Kirby was crossing the road in Marlborough Place towards North Road in Brighton on Monday, where roadworks are taking place for the Valley Gardens project, which is to improve the highway network in the area.

The 27-year-old was hit by a bus coming from the other direction to the one-way system in which had previously been in place.

Louise, who works at Roots Research in Grand Parade, said there were no signs to warn pedestrians about a new alternative lane layout, and the pedestrian crossing machine was not working.

She said: “I was leaving work to get some lunch and was crossing the road where I usually do.

“Normally there are two lanes going in the same direction towards London Road, and so I didn’t look that way because there’s normally no traffic coming from that direction.

“I heard a man shouting something and then I was hit, side on.”

Louise, who lives in Helena Close, Portslade, said she put her arm down to steady herself and her wrist was broken in two places.

She said: “Luckily I didn’t hit my head.

“The bus driver came out and I was just sat there in shock, feeling sick.

“I’m annoyed at myself for not looking, but if there were working lights or a ‘look both ways’ sign, this would not have happened.

“We walk across that road every day to get lunch and are always saying how ridiculous it is.

“It was an accident waiting to happen.”

Paramedics treated Louise at the scene with morphine and she was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital to have her wrist put in a cast.

She said: “It’s really painful and it is my left wrist, which is unfortunate as I’m left-handed.

“They definitely need to put a sign up.

“It could have been much worse.”

Ellie Ayres, Louise’s colleague at Roots Research, said the roadworks have been causing “utter chaos” for almost a year.

The 33-year-old said: “Neither the cars nor the people know where they’re meant to be going around the minefield of orange barriers.

“The layout of where the traffic and pedestrians can flow is changing almost every week.

“It actually still says on the floor where Louise got hit ‘Look left’. They need to have a clear sign that says ‘Look Both Ways’ and a pedestrian crossing that actually works.”

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “We are very sorry to hear of Ms Kirby’s injury.

“We are currently investigating the incident in conjunction with the Brighton and Hove Bus Company.

“With this in mind it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this stage.”