Bereaved mum hits out at Wyllie bends safety measures

Nurse Laurie Jones, 23, died in a crash on the road in October 2019

A mother whose daughter died following a crash at a blackspot has criticised new safety features which have been damaged in another accident.

Laurie Jones, 23, died after her car crashed into a river near Ynysddu, Caerphilly county, on 1 October 2019.

Caerphilly council said recommended safety measures had been implemented and fencing added as an extra feature.

But Laurie's mother, Jo, said crash barriers and better lighting would offer motorists greater protection.

The £350,000 chain-link fencing, which was installed in February, was wrecked following a van crash on the road between Ynysddu and Wyllie on 11 September, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It said the driver was believed to have escaped unhurt.

The fencing was installed after a fatal crash but has since been damaged following another accident

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"I'm not sure how many other fatal accidents or near misses are required for the council to become serious and apply higher standards of safety to the Wyllie bends," said Ms Jones.

"I still feel that crash barriers and better lighting on pinch points would certainly offer more safety and should slow down vulnerable vehicles allowing other drivers time to react."

Her daughter, a nurse, had been driving home to Pontllanfraith in the early hours following a shift at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales when she crashed.

Caerphilly council said an independent road safety assessment had been carried out at the site and "all recommendations for improvements have been implemented".

"Although there was no recommendation for fencing to be installed, the authority took the decision to also install this as an additional measure," it said.

The council said it had used "standard highway boundary fence commonly used all around the country in similar instances".