Call for action on road lined with floral tributes

A petition has been launched calling for average speed cameras beside an air station in Cornwall after another fatal accident.

On Saturday 14 December 22-year-old engineer Samuel Vass died following a collision with another car on the A3083 next to RNAS Culdrose, Helston and two airmen from the base died in a crash nearby in December 2022.

Daniel Thirkill, who started the petition, said: "Without action, the heart-breaking pattern of accidents and loss will only continue."

Cornwall Council, which is responsible for maintaining the road, said: "We are committed to reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads through our ongoing work with partners."

It said: "Following an incident where someone has been killed or seriously injured, we will analyse data from the location and work with partners to determine if there are appropriate measures that can be taken to improve road safety."

Mr Thirkill is a former leading airman at the base and lives in the area.

He said: "It's something I regret not doing two years ago when we lost two sailors on the same stretch of the road.

"This road needs to be restricted to 60mph, I don't want to see more flowers by the roadside."

In the petition he wrote: "Each new tragedy not only takes lives but leaves families broken and communities grieving.

"By implementing a 60mph average speed camera, we can drastically reduce the likelihood of high-speed collisions and save lives."

There are three roadside tributes to people who have died in fatal road accidents along that stretch of the road.

One is for 18-year-old Lottie Rees who died in a motorcycle crash in 2018.

The second is for Callum Gilbert, 23, and his passenger Daniel Cox, 24, who died in a high speed crash in December 2022.

The third is for Samuel Vass, 22 who died on 14 December.

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