Midwife killed in car accident

A WELL-KNOWN midwife who was on her way to meet her husband and daughter has become the 52nd person to die as a result of accidents on Suffolk's roads this year.

A WELL-KNOWN midwife who was on her way to meet her husband and daughter has become the 52nd person to die as a result of accidents on Suffolk's roads this year.

Sally Stockley, 59, who had delivered babies all over East Anglia, received fatal injuries in a three-car crash on the Halesworth to Harleston road on Wednesday evening.

She died in the early hours of yesterdaymorning in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. The occupants of the other two vehicles, a car and a van, escaped unhurt.

The accident took place at Withersdale Street, a hamlet of the village of Mendham and only half a mile from a stretch where traffic calming measures have recently been introduced.

Police closed the road for more than five hours as emergency services dealt with the accident.

Mrs Stockley, who had lived at The Common, Metfield for more than 20 years, had been only two miles into a journey to Cambridge where she was to have had dinner with her husband, Christopher Lewis, who works in the city, and their daughter, Beatrice.

After hearing that his wife had been injured Mr Lewis drove to Norwich to be at her bedside but she died a few hours later.

He said yesterday that midwifery and the right of parents to choose where to give birth had been a central part of her life.

"She was an independent midwife, mostly working outside the NHS, but she was able to help people of all incomes," he said.

At one time Mrs Stockley ran the Metfield Birth Group, a support group where parents could meet and discuss the various options - in the home or in hospitals - for giving birth.

Recently she had become involved with work aimed at improving midwifery services in Uganda, a country she had visited on several occasions. A further visit was due to have taken place in two weeks time.

A parish councillor at Metfield, she formerly served as vice-chairman. Recently, as an individual, she had organised a meeting for a group of local residents to hear more details about the wind farm plan in neighbouring St James South Elmham .

Mrs Stockley also leaves a son, John. He and Beatrice are both in their 20s.

Terry Godbold, who lives in the same area of Metfield, said: "Sally was a very good neighbour. She was quite a character."

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident, which happened at 6pm on Wednesday.

Anyone able to help should contact Pc Hamish Philp on 01473 613500.