A public meeting run by a road safety campaign group attracted hundreds of locals.

The Bull Lane Safety Group (BLSG) presented the findings of its traffic survey to residents of Eccles, Burham, and Wouldham last night.

The group is campaigning for better road safety at the junction of Bull Lane and Pilgrims Way, which is viewed as a dangerous turning for many road users.

The evening was chaired by Justin Smith, and included speeches from BLSG, Tracey Crouch MP, and county, borough, and parish councillors.

Bob Sheppard, spokesman for BLSG, started the evening with a presentation about the potential problems at the junction.

To prove the point of the evening, he asked: "How many people have had any issue at the junction?" Almost everyone in the room raised their hands.

He then detailed the issues, including visibility and speed.

He pointed out that signage on the road is often ignored, and that motorists approaching the junction from Burham in particular are not easily seen because of a hill leading up to the junction.

This means drivers in Bull Lane cannot see oncoming traffic, and drivers on Pilgrims Way often have their foot on the accelerator to get up the hill, which then means they are not in an easy position to stop if someone is pulling out of Bull Lane.

The BLSG presentation was well received in the room, with many residents murmuring agreement, in particular when Mr Sheppard made a point about people heading towards Blue Bell Hill on Pilgrims Way cutting the corner into Bull Lane.

The slideshow included many photos detailing the various problems, which Mr Sheppard had taken with the space of half an hour one morning in December.

He pointed out that the fact he got examples of everything in that time shows just how dangerous the junction is.

The BLSG had also carried out a traffic survey, looking at the number of people using the road over the space of an hour and a half.

This was carried out between 7.30am and 9am on Monday, January 9.

In that time, volunteers from the campaign counted almost 1,500 vehicles using the road, whether it be to go down Pilgrims Way, or turning out of and into Bull Lane.

A KCC traffic survey on the road found more than 40,000 vehicles use the road each week.

The group also counted cars using the new Peters Bridge, heading down New Court Road.

This bridge is a point of contention for the group, which believes it has increased traffic flows down Pilgrims Way.

The Peters Village development of 1,000 houses will only add to the problem, in the campaign's view.

On average over the hour and a half of surveying traffic, the counters saw one vehicle every 3.6 seconds.

Following the presentation, the floor was opened up to comments from those assembled.

Opinions of what should be done ranged from installing traffic lights and roundabouts, to widening the junction or raising it to improve visibility.

Many residents were in agreement that Trenport, the developers behind Peters Village and the new bridge, should be responsible for improving road infrastructure.

The most well received comment was that whatever the solution is, KCC Highways should look to the future developments planned for the area and find a solution based on increased traffic flows, not based on results of recent traffic surveys.

Next to speak was Tracey Crouch MP, who spoke in support of the campaign.

The Chatham and Aylesford MP said: "I use the junction regularly for visits to people in my constituency. I am a confident driver and I hate that junction."

"It's an accident waiting to happen, and it's only going to get more acute as we get more users on the roads because of the bridge and because of the development.

"That junction is not fit for purpose now and not fit for purpose for the future.

"I do not think we are asking for that much. We are just asking for a junction serving our villages to be made safe for everybody who uses it.

"I hope KCC sees the information that has been gathered and that they take that away and something is done before something serious is recorded."

Miss Crouch's speech was well-received in the room, which unfortunately didn't seem to be the case for the next speaker, Peter Homewood from KCC.

Councillor Homewood has agreed to give £10,000 of his combined members grant to the project to improve the junction, which is being match-funded by Aylesford Parish Council.

Although this was appreciated by villagers, they did not agree with the Malling Rural North councillor's view that widening the junction and cutting back hedges would work to decrease issues.

Many residents showed their distaste by repeating the need for a permanent, long-term solution to the issues.

Matthew Balfour, KCC cabinet member for environment and transport, then took the podium.

He started off well, saying "I promise we will try to do something".

However, as he went on to detail the government budget cuts the county council is facing, murmurs in the crowd built up.

He said: "We are very strapped for money, that is why not everything can be done. We have not got the money, so we can't spend it."

Cllr Balfour did however say that the likelihood for further planning permission to be granted in the area meant that this should be a "once and for all solution".

Although he asked the crowd to "please bear with us a bit," he did admit that he cannot ignore the problem, and promised that KCC will do its best to get the problem sorted.

"Having come here tonight I have realised what I am up against, and I promise we will do something that is a proper solution," he said.

Although these promises were appreciated by the residents, many asked what sort of time-scale KCC were looking at for improvements to be put in place.

Cllr Balfour and Nikola Floodgate from KCC Highways both reiterated issues with funds, and the need to find a proper solution before any work started.

Tracey Crouch MP was then joined by members of the BLSG to hand the petition so far to Cllr Homewood and Cllr Balfour.

The evening was concluded by Trudy Clark, chair of the BLSG, who thanked everyone for their support thus far, and asked them to keep fighting.

The Bull Lane Safety Group petition has 1,106 signatures so far. To support the campaign, click here.