The pleas of three Witham school students for better safety measures at a bridge are to be championed by the town council.

Naomi Wingrove, 13, Scott Hyam, 14, and Claire Odell, 15, all of Rickstones School, felt so strongly about the danger at Chipping Hill bridge -- where a man died in a road accident last Sunday-- that they wrote to Mayor Bob Evans.

He has praised their public-spirited attitude and said that he will back them all the way. "Their suggestions are well thought out, positive and sensible, and I agree with them," he said.

"I am going to take the issue to the town council and see how we can take them forward."

Former Mayor Kathie Tearle is also backing the students. She said: "I will be raising this with the police at the next community services committee meeting."

In their letter, Naomi, Claire and Scott said: "We have felt for a long time that the bridge was an accident waiting to happen... we feel that major improvements to this dangerous road are needed now.

"When the bridge was built in Victorian times, only one or two people had cars. Nowadays, almost everyone has a car and the Chipping Hill bridge is just too small to cope.

"We feel the bridge needs at least a set of traffic lights to make it safer, or actually being made bigger to cope with the amount of traffic which uses it every day."

Mr Evans said: "There are only three real alternatives: widening the bridge, a one-way street, or traffic lights, and I tend to favour the traffic lights as being the most likely to be accepted.

"I have nothing but praise for these youngsters. It is very refreshing to see the youth of the town taking such a positive lead."

Safety measures at the bridge are already being discussed by police. Sgt Alan King, of Bocking traffic police, said: "This has been discussed in the last few days and, after a serious accident such as this, safety and traffic calming measures will undoubtedly be reviewed.

"Our view is that the bridge itself is a traffic calming measure and that widening it would have the reverse effect and actually speed up traffic. It may be, however, that additional calming measures are needed and traffic lights are such an option."

Mayor Bob Evans, Cllr Kathie Tearle and Rickstones pupils.

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