A woman fighting for a pedestrian crossing after an elderly woman was killed in a collision with a car is determined to keep the pressure on.

Sifa Rifat, 88, died while walking across London Road, Northfleet, from her home in the sheltered housing block Cleveland House, to the bus stop opposite back in May.

Pakize Guvenc looked after her for 16 years and is on a mission to improve the safety along the road with a new crossing.

She sent a petition off to Kent County Council (KCC) with 250 signatures, but has been told it is not enough.

She needs at least 1,000 for the issue to be raised in a Gravesham council meeting and more than 2,500 to be heard in a KCC cabinet meeting.

But Pakize says she won’t give up.

“That’s fine. I’ll just keep going. I will get the signatures that I need, I’ll work at it every day. I don’t want to see anyone else die on this road.”

Pakize has the support of Northfleet North councillor Peter Scollard, who is keen to help her campaign, and Gravesham MP Adam Holloway, who said: “Unfortunately I have no power to tell KCC what to do. I was on to them about this way back in 2007 and more recently in 2014 – and I am on to them at the moment.

“A new crossing would be a great help and thoroughly support this effort, but the reality is also that people just need to drive more slowly.”

A spokesman for KCC said: “Whilst we sympathise with residents, we have to make tough decisions on where to prioritise our action in local areas.

“This means we have to say ‘no’ more than we’d like.

“We look at the sites most in need of improvement first, which have got the support of the whole community.

“We do this through road safety awareness campaigns and safety engineering measures.

“We analyse crash data supplied by Kent Police for any trends that can be identified and potentially addressed by investing in safety measures.”

Mrs Rifat died after an accident involving a blue Audi A6. The driver – a 27-year-old man from Northfleet – was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and causing death while uninsured. He has been bailed until Monday, August 22.

A copy of the petition is available to sign at The Ebbsfleet Grill in London Road.