Relatives of County Durham family killed on A18 call for road improvement works
It's four years today since the Cockburn family died in a tragic accident on the A18 near Grimsby.
Relatives of a County Durham family killed in a crash say its vital that road improvement work goes ahead despite funding for the project yet to be found.
It's now four years since five members of the Cockburn family died when their car was involved in a head-on collision with a lorry on the A18 near Grimsby.
Today we can reveal over 200 accidents have taken place on that stretch of route in the last 3 years alone - with nearly 400 people either killed or injured between 2013 and 2016.
Ann Walker is the sister of Angela Cockburn who died in the crash alongside her husband, two daughters and granddaughter and has been speaking to us. She wants to make sure it can never happen again:
“This is something we just have to live with. If we can improve things for other people and keep pushing for answers and improvement, then that’s what we’ll do.
“It can’t just be left for something to happen like that again. We’re just hoping that it will progress really soon but by the looks of all the reports coming through it’s all down to funding.”
North East Lincolnshire Council insist they're committed to getting the scheme in place.
A Council spokesperson told us:
"Cabinet members at North East Lincolnshire Council have committed to investigate further the feasibility of a series of measures recommended to improve safety on one of the area’s main roads.
"Works recommended to make the road safer include widening and realigning parts of the road, improvements to drainage and the road surface, a new road restraint barrier in one area, some changes to road markings and traffic signs, and improvements for cyclists and pedestrians.
“I hope we can assure the relatives and friends of the five members of the Cockburn family who lost their lives on the A18, in whatever way possible, that we are doing all we can to reduce the chances of such a tragedy happening again on this stretch of road.
“Our sympathy remains with them.
“The safety of all road users in North East Lincolnshire is of paramount importance and we’re taking steps to reduce the number of casualties on our roads.”