A Wymondham lollipop lady is urging drivers to show more respect for pedestrians after she was left badly shaken when hit by a car last week.

Great-grandmother Joan Roberts, 73, was patrolling the zebra crossing on Norwich Road, near The Windmill pub, when a car struck her down one side at about 3.10pm on Friday.

She said the car had stopped but as she moved into the centre of the road to guide a woman over the crossing, the driver pulled away.

Mrs Roberts managed to stay on her feet and walk back to her own car before heading to her nearby daughter's house to recover.

'I was badly shook up and shaken. I could not believe it. I was not expecting anyone to move. He stopped and I thought that was it,' she said.

'Luckily I have no broken bones but I do have aches and pains and I'm feeling a bit lethargic. My legs feel like jelly. My doctor said it is a reaction to the shock.'

Although the driver stopped to check she was not injured, Mrs Roberts has reported the incident to the police and is prepared to attend court if it highlights the need for motorists to show more care towards lollipop ladies.

'I could have been with children and a child could have easily been hit. Fortunately there was just a lady with me at the time who hadn't stepped into the road. Three or five minutes earlier there would have been a lot more trying to cross,' she said.

She added: 'I'm a driver. I know if there was a lollipop person standing in the road I would stop and wait until they had moved back to the pavement.

'I should not have been hit because it was a zebra crossing and it should have been a safe place, even without me.'

Mrs Roberts, originally from Costessey, has worked as a lollipop lady for 28 years.

She moved to Wymondham 14 years ago and is known to the town's youngsters as Lollipop Joan.

In all the years, she said this is the first time she has been hit by a car, although she has encountered a handful of near misses since starting work in Norwich Road about two years ago.

'I began working in St Faith's Road and that is a very busy road but I never had any problems with the drivers. I never had near misses here until I started working at the crossing,' she said.

Despite the accident, Mrs Roberts said she loves her job and intends to go back to work on Monday.

A spokesman for Norfolk Police said officers are investigating the collision.