PEOPLE living near Shottendane Road, Margate, where traffic policeman Jon Odell was killed by a hit-and-run driver a year ago today, fear it will take another serious injury or fatal accident before improved safety measures are introduced on the busy route.

The rural route links Margate with Westgate and Birchington and has become increasingly busy as motorists use it to bypass traffic congestion on the main roads across the island. Jacobs Close and Firbank Gardens feed onto Shottendane Road and residents say turning in and out of their roads is difficult and dangerous.

They are urging the county council highways department to review the situation. A spokeswoman for residents in Firbank Gardens said:” There are no signs telling motorists that there are concealed entrances off Shottendane Road and often parked cars mask these entrances.

“Some motorists drive too fast as the road heads into the countryside which makes it difficult and dangerous to get onto the road, particularly as Jacobs Close and Firbank Gardens are on a bend.

“There have been fatalities and serious injury accidents on Shottendane Road through the years and we do not want to wait for another before action is taken to improve safety. Every time we hear the screech of cars braking we fear the worst.”

Safety options could include speed cameras or signs warning drivers of concealed entrances placed either side of the road.

The last fatality on this stretch of road was on December 19 last year, when traffic policeman Jon Odell was hit by a driver as he tried to carry out a routine stop check.

A memorial garden in his memory is being opened at Thanet police headquarters in Margate today.