MEDWAY'S transport chief plans to enlist the help of the area's three MPs in a bid to get more cash to improve the dangerous A228

Speaking after last weekend's double fatal accident close to the village of Stoke, near Rochester, Cllr Phil Filmer, Medway Council's portfolio holder for transport, said: "I don't think we can get a dual carriageway out there because we don't seem to be ticking the right boxes to get funding.

"We are going to speak to the three MPs to see if they can help us and we're looking at a number of things to alleviate the problems on the A228."

Saturday's crash on the A228 claimed the lives of a father and his seven-year-old son.

The accident brought the death toll on the A228 to 35 in 20 years.

The father, aged 27, was driving along Malmaynes Hall Road, Stoke, on Saturday night when his Mini was involved in a collision with a Rover Metro. When police arrived at the scene they found the Rover had been abandoned. Two men, aged 23 and 25, were later arrested in connection with the incident.

Cllr Filmer said:" "We are looking at speed cameras that can time the distance between A and B and work out an average speed and can issue fines.

"My objective is to make the A228 as safe as possible. I travel on it every day and it is an unforgiving road that we want to make safer."

Work is almost completed on making part of the A228 a dual carriageway, but the council said earlier this year it was unlikely the Government would provide cash for more dualling. The council's road engineers believed bidding for smaller pots of Government cash for running repairs, junctions, speed spots and bends on the most windswept part of the road was the best they could do.

The road, which carries much of Britain's container traffic. Hundreds of lorries use the A228 every day to deliver or collect containers from Thamesport, the UK's

fourth busiest port.

FOR FULL REPORTS ON THE LATEST TRAGEDY AND THE IMPACT IT HAS HAD ON THE COMMUNITY SEE THIS FRIDAY'S MEDWAY MESSENGER