Brancepeth gran dies on road hours after petition
Nov 14 2008 by Paul James, The Journal
A GRANDMOTHER was killed as she crossed the road, just hours after villagers presented a petition to traffic chiefs calling for a speed limit at the same spot.
Ellen Hendry, 81, was hit by a Suzuki jeep on the A690 after getting off the bus in her home village of Brancepeth, near Durham, during rush-hour on Wednesday evening.
Parish council chairman John Jackson had earlier handed over a petition bearing more than 200 names to Durham County Council, warning there would be deaths unless action was taken on the busy road, which cuts the village in two.
Mrs Hendry’s family paid tribute to a “kind, gentle and generous person” who was returning home from visiting a friend in hospital when she was hit. She was pronounced dead at the scene just after 5.15pm by paramedics, and neighbours yesterday said her family had raced from their nearby home to be at her side during her final moments.
The speed limit on the road was cut from 60mph to 40mph last year, but Mr Jackson yesterday repeated his call for that to be cut further. There is no suggestion the driver who hit Mrs Hendry, a 40-year-old Weardale man, was speeding.
Mr Jackson said the village was split by the A690 and people had to cross one of the main roads to Durham City every day to access local amenities.
He said: “I handed the petition in at 11am and told them that unless something was done we were likely to have a fatality. I then handed it in to Durham Police. This is a very small village of around 350 people. She was a very popular lady and it is awful. There’s a lot of feeling about this.” Chairman of Brancepeth Community Association, Jim Merrington, added: “The 40mph limit is too fast. The number of times people have said ‘It’s going to take somebody killed for something to be done’.”
Mrs Hendry’s family said in a statement: “Ellen Hendry was a popular figure, loved by everyone in the village of Brancepeth and of course Sunderland, where she grew up. A kind, gentle and generous person, she would always put other people’s interests before her own.”
Durham County Council said the speed limit would now be reviewed on the road. Dave Wafer, its acting head of highway management, said: “As far as the petition itself is concerned, we shall be conducting traffic speed surveys on this stretch of the A690. We shall also be working with the police to establish whether any action may be necessary to address the concerns of local people.”
A Durham Police spokesman added: “This matter has been reviewed by the county council on a number of occasions in conjunction with the police and there are no grounds to support this campaign. However, given the level of community concerns, we are aware it will be looked at again.”
