Bereaved Bognor mother wins fight for speeding signs

A road campaigner has successfully gained speed reduction signs for a section of the A29 in Bognor.

Doris Sumpter, who lost her son Justin in a road accident in Cornwall seven years ago, has been seeking traffic-calming action on the stretch of road at Shripney at the Robin Hood.

For the last three years she has highlighted the area as a problem area for road accidents and speeding offences.

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Mrs Sumpter, of The Marigolds, Madeira Avenue, said: "I'm very pleased something has now been done as the traffic along here has been really bad for speeding.

"I asked the Safer Sussex Camera Partnership if we could get a speed camera put in here but that is not possible, so they have agreed to put these signs up. They flash when you go over 40mph, so I am hoping that it will make people think about what they are doing.

"It has been hard to campaign for this, especially after losing my son who was only 31.

"I've been fighting for justice for him since 2003 and we are facing losing the roof over our head in order to fund our campaign."

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She said in the summer of 2003, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to pursue a court case against the person involved with

the road collision which resulted in her Gosport-based son's death due

to a lack of evidence.

Dismayed by the handling of the case, she is considering taking her fight to the European courts. But she has lacked the financial backing to employ senior solicitors to take on her cause.

She praised MP Nick Gibb for raising her son's case with senior government ministers, who have, as yet, been unable to offer any further solution.

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The MP for Bognor said: "Mrs Sumpter has campaigned very hard for many years for road safety at this part of the A29. It's thanks to her persistence that these measure have been taken.

"Everything like this helps in terms of monitoring speed on our roads."

Derek Whittington, West Sussex County Council cabinet member for strategic planning and transport, welcomed the installation of the A29 speed signs resulting from Mrs Sumpter's campaign.

He said: "Speeding and the number of collisions has been a particular concern on the A29 through Shripney. The county council has installed

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two vehicle-activated signs to encourage better compliance with the speed limit.

"These signs activate when the vehicle exceeds the speed limit. In the right place they have proved to be an effective way of managing speed and reducing casualties on our roads.

"The signs will be checked regularly to ensure they continue to function as planned."

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