THERE have been at least 40 vehicle crashes on the Andover bypass in the last five years, data has revealed.

The section of A303, between the junctions with the A3093 at Picket Twenty and the A343 at West Portway Industrial Estate is littered with markers on a map depicting traffic incidents.

Since September 2016, an estimated 26 ‘slight’ crashes have occurred on the approximately 4-mile stretch of dual carriage way, as well as 11 ‘serious’ and three fatal incidents.

At least 56 vehicles and at least 43 casualties have been involved in these incidents.

As previously reported, the stretch of the dual carriageway A303 south and west of Andover is the deadliest road in Hampshire over the past decade, with six deaths.

However, the most recent fatal collision, which saw three people killed between the junctions with A3093 and A3057 after two kind samaritans stopped to help a mother-of-two who had broken down, is yet to be included on the map compiled by crashmap.co.uk and is therefore not included in the total reported.

The tragic event led to calls for a review of the road’s safety, with particular reference made to the lack of hard shoulder.

Speaking to The Advertiser, Aja Jaques, compliance officer at Avery Recovery, the company at which one of the victims worked, said: “That particular road is well known for accidents. It does seem to be a hotspot for accidents to occur. We would like to think that [a review of its safety] would happen now.”

Cllr Iris Andersen (TVBC, Andover St Mary’s) added: “No hard shoulder is the biggest mistake. They need to do something, something has to be put in place. Things need to be looked into now. It’s serious.”

In response to calls for a review, National Highways, the body responsible for the road, said that it is aiming to to reduce the number of fatalities “to a number approaching zero” by 2040.

Route manager Greg Stone said: “At National Highways safety is our top priority, and our vision is for everyone who travels on our network to get home safe and well.

“Our long-term ambition is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the strategic road network to a number approaching zero by 2040.

“We plan to achieve this challenging vision through a mixture of safety engineering schemes and network improvements, customer engagement, and through our work as part of road safety partnerships across the region with organisations such as police forces, fire and rescue services, and other highway authorities.”