The family of a grandmother killed on a notorious road outside Ashford say a multi-million pound cash injection to make the route safer cannot come soon enough.

Chris Hickmott, 68, died in 2014 almost three weeks after her yellow Fiat Panda hit a tree on the A252 at Chilham.

Now her only daughter Hettie Walton, who lives in Park Place near the Designer Outlet, says plans to spend £2.8m on the road from Charing to Chilham must be supported.

The road is considered an accident blackspot following a string of serious and fatal crashes, and Kent County Council (KCC) has applied to the Department for Transport (DfT) for funding.

Ms Walton, 50, said: “I think the improvements should have been done years ago. When I stand at the side of the road where my mum died, drivers whizz through there at 70mph or 80mph.

“It is a shame that people see flowers at the side of the road but do not slow down. I would like to see the council get the funding.”

The DfT has allocated £175 million to upgrade roads across the country where the risk of fatal and serious collisions is highest, based on a report by the Road Safety Foundation.

KCC bosses will find out before Christmas if their bid for £2.8m to spend on the A252 has been given the green light.

If successful, they will make a number of improvements along the route including the refreshing of lines and cats’ eyes, as well as updating street lighting at junctions.

The A252 has been the scene of numerous accidents in recent years following Mrs Hickmotts’ crash – including one that killed Chilham parish councillor Paul Hardisty near Dane Street in March.

"At the moment, drivers see it as a race track..." - Hettie Walton

Mrs Hickmott used to work at the tax office in Canterbury but was later employed as a carer after moving to Challock with her husband, Robin.

She suffered multiple serious injuries, including a broken neck, back, leg and wrist, and had to be cut free from her car by firefighters after her accident in May 2014.

She was flown to King’s College Hospital in London where she remained in an induced coma, but her family had to make the decision to turn off her life support machine.

Ms Walton added: “At the moment, drivers see it as a race track and I would like to see some sort of speed restriction.

“As there are no cameras, people think they can get away with speeding and there should be more patrols put in to deter people from doing that. They should reduce the speed limit to 50mph as people see it as a nice, flowing road that they can speed on.”