大象传媒

It's 14 years since talented footballer Steve Bernard from Bournemouth lost his life in a road accident near Chichester.

The 18 year old was one of three teenagers killed in a head-on collision at a crossing point on the A27 between Fontwell and Tangmere in November 2005. Two other passengers were seriously injured. At the time, the students were six weeks into a four year PE teacher training degree at Chichester University. The friends had been on their way to a Portsmouth cinema.

Parents Tony and Sue Bernard from Winton, have continued to campaign for the closure of A27 crossing points, in particular the crossing where their eldest son lost his life. Tony told 大象传媒 Radio Solent: "I don't think you ever get over the loss and it's still as raw as ever, but what happens in time time, you just learn to live with it".

In 2006, the family set up a sports charity in Stevie's name to help come to terms with their grief. The Steve Bernard Foundation has raised over 拢400,000 for sports project across Dorset including disability sport.

In the background, Tony, Sue and younger brother Jacques remain adamant that the crossing point near Chichester was a contributory factor to the fatal accident.

Recently, Tony Bernard sent a Freedom of Information Request to Highways England to get collision data at crossing points on the A27 over the past 20 years that resulted in an injury - minor, major or fatal.

The response showed that up until the end of 2017, there have been 3,446 collisions at crossing points on the A27 where injuries have been sustained, including 80 fatalities. It also showed that the number of casualties from collisions at A27 crossing points was exactly the same in 2017, as it was in 2005, the year of Stevie's accident - 380 in each year.

Highways England told 大象传媒 Radio Solent: "Safety is our top priority and we keep safety on the A27 constantly under review. We have a challenging target of reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads by 40 per cent."

"Crossing points like those on the A27 at Nyton Road are not how we would build a modern dual carriageway today, but there are thousands of them across the country and we do all we can to keep them operating safely. Any proposal to close one would need to consider alternative access for residents and be considered alongside other safety improvements.

We will be carrying out small scale safety improvements like vegetation management, barrier work and renewal road markings around the A27 Nyton Road Junction in the coming months."

Show less