First permanent memorial for road traffic victims is unveiled in Warwickshire

The first permanent memorial for road traffic victims in Warwickshire has been unveiled.

Funded by Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership, the memorial at Hartshill Hayes Country Park has been carefully crafted with a decorative emblem featuring a tree of life, inscribed with “Remembering lives lost and injured on our roads in Warwickshire”.

"It sits as part of the park’s commemorative wood and offers families a peaceful location to remember family members, friends or colleagues affected by a road traffic collision.

The concept for the memorial was first revealed at a service at St Mary’s Church in Warwick to commemorate the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in November .

Since then, the Partnership has been working closely with specialist designers, metal workers and stonemasons to bring the concept to reality.

Philip Seccombe, the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner and chair of Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership, said: “The idea for this memorial is to offer the families, friends and colleagues of those affected by a road collision a safe and peaceful place where they can come together to remember the person they have lost or suffered life-changing injuries.

"As a neutral venue away from the roadside, it a place for reflection and not judgement, helping to reinforce the message to all those affected by a collision that they are not alone.

“In Warwickshire we provide specialist support to the families of those killed or seriously injured in road collisions, through the Police Family Liaison Officers and also through the significant work of the Independent Road Traffic Victim Advocate (IRVA).

"Hosted by the road safety charity Brake and funded by my office, the IRVA works closely with victims’ families to give practical and emotional support when it is needed most.

“We wanted to take this ground-breaking work further with the memorial, which serves as a poignant reminder of the need to raise awareness about the devastating consequences of road traffic collisions.

"Each year, lives are needlessly lost and the Partnership is working hard to make our roads safer and encourage everyone to be responsible road users.”

The memorial was unveiled by road safety campaigner Sharron Huddleston, who lost her 18-year-old daughter Caitlin in a collision in Cumbria in 2017.

While the memorial offers a safe place for families to visit, we understand that everyone grieves differently.

Other ideas of how to remember a loved one, including leaving an online tribute, can be found at https://warksroadsafety.org/warwickshireremembers/

RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, can be contacted at [email protected], on 0800 160 1069 or via www.roadpeace.org

Similarly, Brake provides a free, confidential, specialist service for anyone affected by road traffic collisions.

You can call the National Road Victim Service on 0808 8000 401, open Monday-Friday 10am-4pm.

For more information visit www.brake.org.uk