SORT out this danger junction now, before more lives are lost.

Tom Potter

SORT out this danger junction now, before more lives are lost.

That is the message to highways chiefs today after a head-on smash at the exact site of the horror crash which killed 22-year-old Abbie Pennell only eight days earlier.

Thankfully the teenage driver involved in yesterday's collision had a lucky escape, but the accident serves as another stark reminder of the danger of the junction between the B1113 and Bramford Road in Great Blakenham.

It shows clearly that work must start now to reduce the hazard risk of the B1113 - which has claimed other lives over the years - and not be put off until SnOasis or the incinerator is built.

Emergency services were called to the road, close to the junction with the A14, at 4.30pm yesterday, following a collision between a Peugeot 206 and a Renault van.

The 18-year-old female hatchback driver was treated by paramedics on the scene but did not need to be taken to hospital, and no one was arrested.

As those involved surveyed the scene they could still see colourful flowers, left in tribute to Miss Pennell, who died after her Mitsubishi Warrior pick-up truck collided with a coach on August 3.

Miss Pennell, described by friends and family as bright and bubbly, had been on her way to work at Otley College when the collision happened at about 8.15am.

The notorious stretch of road is near land earmarked for an incinerator and close to the proposed SnOasis winter sports complex development.

Both projects have raised concerns about the traffic levels at Great Blakenham.

After Miss Pennell's death Peter Welham from the SnOasis Community Alliance and Suffolk Against Incineration and Landfill, said: “It's a hugely dangerous junction.

“It is very busy and it will only get worse with an incinerator and SnOasis.”

While Great Blakenham Parish Council chairwoman Shirley Fairburn added: “This wasn't the first bad accident there.

“There have been several - it's known as a bad spot for traffic, one of the worst in the county.”

A spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council said: “We will work with the police in the investigation of the accident and we will look to see what, if anything, could be done to improve the junction.”

- Does the junction need to be improved? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.