IT is just over a year since the residents of a notoriously accident-prone stretch of the A1071 Ipswich to Sudbury road started campaigning for speed restrictions.

IT is just over a year since the residents of a notoriously accident-prone stretch of the A1071 Ipswich to Sudbury road started campaigning for speed restrictions.

The residents of the stretch at Back Road, Hintlesham, formed CRASH (Campaign by Residents Against Speed in Hintlesham) in December, 2001.

Their move followed the death of Suffolk GP Dr Tom Peniston in a single vehicle accident at Wolves Wood near their homes the previous month.

Since CRASH was formed the campaigners have been logging accidents, including those not normally recorded by Suffolk's highways department, where no-one has been injured and the emergency services have not been involved.

Campaigners have had several meetings with Suffolk's highways department and some improvements have been promised.

However, the one thing the campaigners say they cannot understand is why the 30mph speed restriction through Hintlesham stops in the middle of the first of the notorious Hintlesham bends, on the Hadleigh side of the village.

In just two days in December the group recorded four accidents and last month witnessed a "close shave" when a car narrowly missed the entrance to Claremont Nursery and got stuck in a ditch.

But in the 36-month period from 2000 to 2002, a county council spokeswoman said Suffolk's highways department had a record of 11 accidents on the stretch between the RSPB reserve at Wolves Wood and the 30mph limit at Hintlesham.

They included one death, three serious injuries and four slight injuries.

The CRASH campaign has been supported by Hintlesham Parish Council, whose chairwoman, Stephanie Coupland, said there was no doubt traffic had been increasing on the road particularly since more homes had been built in Hadleigh.

She said: "The housing at Hadleigh adds such a lot to the volume of traffic and now there's rarely a quiet moment on a weekday."

Traffic volumes had been measured at 12,000 vehicles in a 24-hour period she said.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council said recommendations for resurfacing, improved signing and lines had not yet been consulted on.

Peter Ingram, a county council safety engineer, said: "We want to improve safety on the A1071 and are in ongoing contact with the CRASH group in order to discuss their concerns."