THE grandfather of a teenager who died in an accident in Hapton has handed over a petition to highways bosses calling for safety improvements at a dangerous bridge.

Albert Marsh, 60, has collected around 750 signatures as part of a campaign for increased safety measures on and around the canal bridge on Manchester Road.

His grand-daughter Estelle Thompson, 17, was the victim of a crash on July 20, which saw a silver Ford Ka collide with a wall, leaving her with fatal injuries.

Mr Marsh said: “They were positive about the petition and they did say something would be done, but that these things take time.

“Something definitely needs to happen, everyone agrees about that because there have been so many accidents in that area.

“It was just something we wanted to do for Estelle and we have got some great feedback.”

Mr Marsh, who lives on the Stoops estate, started the petition urging Lancashire County Council to consider introducing speed restrictions or traffic lights on the narrow curve.

Yesterday, he handed over the petition to local county councillor Marcus Johnstone, and representatives from the county council’s highways department, at the canal bridge.

Villagers have complained of a number of recent smashes, either side of the bridge, as traffic either careers through the village, or arrives at speed into Hapton, after the long, straight road from Padiham.

Just a couple of years ago a motorist collided with one of the walls on the curve, which led to restrictions on the roadway until repairs could be ordered.

And earlier in July another driver also lost control on the bend, with a vehicle destroying another large section of the bridge. The motorist then fled the scene.