A PENSIONER whose son died 18 years ago following a crash has called for major changes to a road after a 22-year-old woman was killed in the same spot recently.

Anthony Bond

A PENSIONER whose son died 18 years ago following a crash has called for major changes to a road after a 22-year-old woman was killed in the same spot recently.

Liz Gardiner said she was horrified when she heard about the death of Abbie Pennell, which happened on the B1113 at Great Blakenham, close to the A14, on August 3.

Mrs Gardiner, who lives in Glebe Way, Barham, said Miss Pennell's accident was a “carbon copy” of a crash which killed her 17-year-old son Paul in July 1991.

“I could not even read articles about it,” she said. “It brought my son's accident back to the fore. I had to get my friend to read it to me and I was in floods of tears. It has taken me nearly two weeks to bring myself together enough to try and move forward.”

The 66-year-old has now called for Suffolk County Council to make drastic changes to the road, which was also the scene of a head on smash early last week.

Thankfully the teenage driver involved in Tuesday's crash had a lucky escape but it served as another stark reminder of the danger of the junction between the B1113 and Bramford Road.

The accident was near land earmarked for the construction of an incinerator and close to the proposed SnOasis winter sports complex.

It is also the same location that Mrs Gardiner's son was killed at. And she said she believes many more lives could be lost if these developments are built unless changes are made.

“I feel that with the road as it is at the moment, in no way is it going to be safe to have an extra volume of traffic along there,” she said. “The road must be altered first, that is the priority.”

Mrs Gardiner said one of the first changes which should be made is to change it from a duel carriageway into single lane traffic.

She added: “It is very difficult when you lose a child because the pain of that never goes away. It is just so prominent in my life because I have experienced so much pain since I lost Paul.”

Last week a spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council said they would work with police to investigate the recent accidents and look to see what - if anything - could be done to improve the junction.