Villagers' ten year safety fight

Twelve-year-old Aarron Keeping was a keen cricketer

Villagers in Hampshire living near a road junction where a boy of 12 died, have been fighting for safety changes for ten years, it has been claimed.

Aarron Keeping was on his bike when he died in a collision with a car outside the Crown Inn in the village of Bransgore, close to the Dorset border.

One parish councillor said many changes had been suggested but no action had ever been taken.

The 25-year-old male driver of the car was arrested and later bailed.

It has since emerged the village was earmarked to have its speed limit reduced to 30mph (48.3km/h) next year.

Aaron, who was a keen cricketer, died after being taken to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

Clare Lockyer, a parish councillor and member of the same family as Aarron, said: "Each time you make a suggestion, somebody's been and looked at the positioning of the road and what can be done.

Villagers have fought for safety improvements for ten years

"If you suggest a roundabout, 'oh, well it can't be done for this reason'. And traffic lights can't be done for this reason," she said.

"There's always a reason behind why it can't be done. It could have been any one of our children. Sadly, it was Aarron."

The Bransgore Community Plan, which was drawn up by villagers last year at the invitation of New Forest District Council (NFDC), suggests a pedestrian crossing and improved visibility at the junction.

Richard Frampton, another parish councillor, said they had not yet had any feedback.

NFDC said they have helped the village to apply to reduce the speed limit to 30mph (48.3km/h).

It said the Hampshire Casualty Reduction Partnership would be looking at all the circumstances of the crash, as well as the accident history of the site, before deciding if remedial measures at the junction were appropriate.

The 25-year-old male driver of a blue Ford Focus, who was shaken but unhurt, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.

Police have appealed for witnesses.