SLOW IT DOWN: THE Gazette's campaign to improve safety on the notorious stretch of the A4 between Chippenham and Calne has taken a major step forward.

In October, the Gazette was told that there was no chance of safety measures being implemented on the A4, as not enough serious accidents had occurred to warrant action.

But we refused to let it lie.

Spurred on by the alarming number of serious and even fatal accidents on the four-mile route in recent years, we launched the A4 Slow it Down campaign.

Two months and 3,000 signatures later, people power has paid off.

Yesterday, Wiltshire County Council agreed to add the A4 to the list of danger routes that will be considered for extra funding in March.

Our campaign team, including Chippenham town councillor Bill Douglas, Chippenham Mayor Desna Allen and a clutch of other councillors and members of the public who have pushed their might behind the cause, handed our bulging A4 petition to the council's regulatory committee.

Coun Douglas told the committee chairman Mark Connolly: "This petition represents an overwhelming strength of feeling amongst the people of North Wiltshire.

"This road is risking and taking lives and we want you to take action to stop this now.

"Come March, we will not be fobbed off again."

The situation on the A4 will now be scrutinised and assessed by the regulatory committee, in time for March, when the decision will be made on which Wiltshire sites will receive funding under the Local Safety Schemes.

We told the council we want accident blackspot signs put up at the foot of Derry Hill and at Studley crossroads. We want improved road markings and we want the promise that a lower speed limit will be sought in the near future.

But Coun Douglas said that handing over the petition represented just the tip of the iceberg in the A4 campaign.

"This is just our first means of attack," he said.

"People have shown how determined they are in getting things done. When we went out collecting signatures, we were actually approached by people waiting to sign the petition.

"And the fact that the mayors of Chippenham and Calne also joined to support this campaign, is a clear indication of how many lives this road affects.

"We have been pushed around by people who were eager to fob us off, but we have shown we are serious and that we are not going away. We will continue to fight and do whatever it takes to make the council take action on the A4."

Also among the party presenting the petition was Carole Millard, 42, a mother-of-three from Pewsham, Chippenham, who felt so strongly about the dangers of the A4, that she gave up her free time to collect signatures in Chippenham.

"I learned first-hand what matters to people on the streets of Chippenham," said Mrs Millard.

"And making the A4 safer is one of their priorities. I heard horror stories about near-misses and even serious accidents.

"I know the worry this road inflicts. My husband Peter travels it every day and I worry constantly that I will one day receive a telephone call telling me he has had an accident there.

"I know I am one of thousands of people who will be anxiously awaiting news from the county council in March."

Other groups and organisations also waiting anxiously for good news include the young footballers of Derry Hill Boys Football Club, who risk life and limb every time they try to access their ground off the A4.

And the countless residents who homes line this horror road.