We warned it would happen

Jon Pierce, pictured, wrote to Swindon Council calling for action to sort out the faulty traffic lights before there was a serious accident.

He warned of the dangers at the busy location, saying the lights had been out of action for more than a year.

He was prompted to act on June 27 after he witnessed an accident there.

Five weeks later on Sunday biker Trevor Gibbs, of Park South, was killed after he was in collision with a Mitsubishi Warrior at the junction of Corporation Street and Station Road at 6.40pm.

The 51-year-old father-of-two was thrown from his Kawasaki and died from his injuries later that night after being taken to Great Western Hospital.

In his letter to the council, Mr Pierce, of Station Road, wrote: "It could be fatal one day if someone is waiting to cross the road." He asked the council if it was going to do anything about the lights and officers promised they would be taking action "in the near future." The reply to the letter, from Andrew Parfitt, assistant traffic signals engineer, said: "It is the council's intention to re-arrange the junction, change the lane markings, resurface the road and some footways, install traffic control and pedestrian crossings and improve/increase the street lighting in the near future."

Mr Pierce, 30, a delivery driver, is angry that nothing was done sooner.

"It was just waiting to happen," he said. "I was actually there on Sunday night and to find out he died was horrific. It's the final straw.

"There's been a smash on average about once a month since the lights have been out but nobody was really injured before now.

"I read some of the messages on the flowers that have been left and it's devastating.

"It would be nice to think the council will actually pull their thumb out and do whatever has to be done now. It's a nightmare.

"I'm angry with them for not sorting it out. It's not been a matter of weeks it has been a matter of months. They've had a long time to sort it out."

The council has confirmed it knew "for several months" that the lights were out of order but took the decision to put the repair work on hold.

Geoff Lawrence, council spokesman, could not say how long the lights had not been working but conceded it could have been up to a year.

Work to address safety at the junction is scheduled to start on August 22 and Mr Lawrence said that decision was made some time ago and was definitely not a result of the accident.

He said: "There was an underground fault in the cabling and the rest of the equipment.

"The installation needed renewal. A cheap repair was out of the question hence the need for comprehensive road works which are being undertaken from August 22."

He added: "It would be totally inappropriate for anyone at this stage to make any allegation that there is any connection whatsoever between the lights being out and the roadworks in that area that had been planned for a long time."

What the family of the victim say

RACHAEL Gittins believes that her partner of 10 years would still be alive if the traffic lights had not been out of order.

The 38-year-old, of Monkton Close, Park South, described Trevor Gibbs, as the love of her life.

She said that the council should have done something about the lights after being made aware of the problem.

"If they (the lights) were working properly he would still be here today," she said.

"Maybe you can't say that for sure but you don't know.

"If someone had warned the council and spoken to them about it then they should have done something."

Since the accident on Sunday night two temporary 'slippery surfaces' signs have been put at the junction.

Flowers have been left at the spot where Mr Gibbs crashed.

A message from Rachael read: "To my darling Trev. My heart has been broken.

"I have lost the love of my life.

"I will always love you, till we meet again. Love always, your Rach."

Another, from Rachael's parents, read: "One in a million son-in-law.

"Words can't express the loss we feel."

Mr Gibb's funeral will be at the Kingsdown Crematorium at midday on Wednesday, August 10.

What the Adver survey revealed

The Swindon Advertiser went down to the junction of Corporation Street and Station Road to see how bad the situation is.

We studied the traffic at a number of times over a period of two days for an hour at a time.

And it soon became clear the junction causes motorists confusion.

On Wednesday night there was a near miss as a car travelling along Station Road towards the junction almost failed to stop as another vehicle travelled up Corporation Street.

A short while later a motorist on Corporation Street stopped to let a cyclist on Station Road go across the junction even though the man in the car had right of way and it was the cyclist who should have halted.

Yesterday morning there was more confusion at the early morning rush hour.

And in the evening there were three occasions when the vehicles that had right of way coming along Corporation Street stopped to allow traffic across in front of them.

There was also a learner driver who turned left off Corporation Street on to Station Road and stopped needlessly, forcing the car behind to slam on the brakes.

There are many prangs

PEOPLE living close to the junction of Station Road and Corporation Street say they have feared a serious accident since the lights stopped working.

Resident Simon Calton, 25, of Brunswick House which is only metres from the crash scene helped comfort Mr Gibbs until help arrived.

He said: "People around here have been saying for months that someone would be killed. Now it's happened.

"I moved into my new flat in May and I would estimate that there have been ten or more prangs in that time.

"The damage to cars is the same each time the right wing scraped on one car and the left wing damaged on another."

The salesman, who works in Berkshire, described the moment of impact.

"We're used to hearing crashes but this was the loudest bang I've heard the flat literally shook," said Mr Calton.

"I saw the man on the floor and rushed out with towels. Everyone pulled together to help it was unreal.

"If any good is to come from this tragedy it would be that this council gets those lights working before someone else is injured or killed."

Brunswick Court resident, Gemma Coffey, 24, who works in recruitment, says the council must act swiftly to improve safety.

She said: "I arrived home about 15 minutes after the crash took place. It was one of the most horrific sights I have ever seen. I can't help thinking that the council may be partly to blame. Why don't the traffic lights there work?

"I have on many occasions almost been forced into driving under the Whitehouse Bridge by cars pulling out at the junction.

"From experience I know the visibility is terrible when you are waiting to pull out at that junction."

Alvina Kumar, spokeswoman for Swindon police, says officers had only dealt with one accident near the junction between January and June this year but confirmed figures would not include minor prangs.

What ambulance manager says

AMBULANCE boss Paul Gates has praised the public for their response to the tragic accident.

People rushed to help Trevor Gibbs.

Some comforted him while others fetched towels and ice for his injuries.

A nurse from Great Western Hospital passed the accident scene and stopped to help.

Mr Gates, operations manager at Wiltshire Ambulance Service, said: "We would like to thank the public.

"There were a lot of people at the scene who assisted our crews and gave them useful information.

"It was a horrific and distressing accident but people responded in a calm and dignified way.

"We would also like to thank a nurse who works at Great Western Hospital who stopped to help the casualty."

Gareth Bethell and Kevin Shoesmith