Villagers call for safety measures after yet another crash in Aynho

A car crashed into the Aynho Park perimeter wall at the weekend

Parish council chairman Leslie Leighton spoke out after another incident in which a car ploughed headlong into a stone wall boundary of Aynho Park.

The wall is patterned with rebuild patches where vehicles have hit it after leaving the road on the severe bend in the direction of Banbury.

Mr Leighton said: “We need new signage - the chevrons aren’t big or bold enough. One is four or five feet off the ground and easy to miss whether going uphill or down.

“We need a restraining barrier at the edge of the green area and we need a street light there for illumination at night.

“It’s all predicated on money and every time we speak to Northamptonshire Highways they say they don’t have any money.

“We speak to them a couple of times a year and we’ve also asked police for speed cameras.”

Mr Leighton said he lives on the Croughton Road, which runs from the M40 direction through Aynho, and witnesses the ‘carnage’ of repeated accidents.

He added: “We have a high volume of traffic going through the village and a lot of it travels too fast. We have two very fast approach roads and when we’ve had speed measurement it has not been uncommon to have drivers coming into the restricted area at 70 - 80mph.”

Mr Leighton said the majority of crashes into the wall are motorists driving from east to west towards Adderbury.

A spokesperson from Northamptonshire County Council said: “We have not had reports for some time regarding this location but Northamptonshire Highways do seek to work with communities on their concerns and safety is our priority.

“Our road safety team are working with the local community to gather data at four locations within the village to assess the problem. We are also looking at signage again to tackle a speeding issue.”

The spokesman said priorities are managed by assessing collision and casualty evidence, adding: “Unfortunately it is impossible to eliminate the daily risks involved when travelling on the road network particularly when the vast majority of collisions are caused through human behavioural factors, and competent driving depends on good reactions, judgement and hazard assessment.”