THREE fatalities and yet another seriously destructive accident in less than two weeks have sparked calls for the urgent implementation of speed cameras on what has been described as Òthe deceptively dangerousÓ A339.

The impassioned call serves to highlight mounting concern over the safety of the A339 Alton-to-Basingstoke road following two crashes at the weekend, one of which resulted in the tragic deaths of two motorcyclists.

The other left a car lodged nose down, with its roof against a tree, just feet away from people sitting in the garden of their home on the corner of Shalden Lane.

The occupants, three young soldiers from Prince Philip Barracks in Bordon, miraculously escaped but with injuries.

SundayÕs bike crash makes a total of four motorcycle fatalities on or close to the A339 in less then two weeks.

Two other riders lost their lives on Wednesday, September 3, - one when he lost control of his bike on the Herriard section of the A339 and hit a tree, the other when he was involved in a head-on collision with a car while following the previous incident diversion route through Ellisfield.

The accidents have triggered a call, not just by local residents but by AltonÕs police chief, Inspector Tony Tipping, for speed cameras on this notoriously bad section of the A339, which locals believe has already claimed too many lives.

And last Sunday was a step too far. While the return of summer had brought out bikers and motorists alike, it turned into a Black Sunday indeed, not only for the victims and their families but for those involved in picking up the pieces.

The two bikers were killed when their motorcycles were involved in a head-on collision at the infamous Waterworks Bend at Shalden.

Police have named them as 29-year-old Peter Lloyd Bergin from Coventry, and Richard Smith Sharvell, 45, from Godalming.

Mr Bergin was said to be riding his yellow Honda CBR 600 north from Alton towards Basingstoke at around 11-20 am, when it was involved in a collision with Mr SharvellÕs yellow Suzuki TL 1000, which was travelling in the opposite direction.

The road was closed for around five hours and traffic diversions were put in place. But less than two hours after the road was reopened another crash took place on exactly the same bend.

This second incident happened at around 6-16 pm, when a silver Ford Fiesta travelling from Basingstoke towards Alton, lost control on the right-hand bend and crashed into a tree near Shalden Cottage.

The driver and his two passengers, all serving soldiers at the Prince Philip Barracks in Bordon, were taken by Hampshire Ambulance to the North Hampshire Hospital at Basingstoke.

The driver, aged 19, sustained serious back and neck injuries, and his two passengers, aged 18 and 19, sustained slight injuries.

Home owner Ruth Pletz is so shocked by the incidents she has decided to launch a campaign to try and improve the safety of the A339, and especially the Waterworks bend.

Having lived at Shalden Cottage for 10 years and seen a stream of accidents, some of them fatal, SundayÕs nightmare was the last straw.

According to Mrs Pletz the first she knew of the motorcycle accident was when she heard the crash. She rushed out to help but there were already people on the scene - a young student nurse from the village, another motorcyclist who was in tears, and a car driver, who happened to be a first aider.

Both men died at the scene.

Stunned by that accident, Mrs Pletz, her husband Simon and her disabled mother, were sitting that evening in the summer house when they heard another bang. This was followed by the sound of a whirring engine as the Ford Fiesta flew through the air, smashed through the garden wall and came to rest with a sickening crash with its roof up against a cedar tree, just feet away from the house.

ÒWe thought the car had actually crashed into the house,Ó said Mrs Pletz who ran down the garden to find three young men being pulled out of the car by fellow soldiers who had obviously been following in another vehicle.

ÒThey thought the car was going to go up,Ó said Mrs Pletz, who helped to haul them away from the area and administer first aid.

ÒThey were lucky to get out of that car alive. How the car managed not to miss the oak tree and the house I shall never know,Ó said Mrs Pletz who believes that both incidents happened because the drivers were travelling too fast. She wants to see the Waterworks bend straightened out and a speed restriction imposed, backed up by speed cameras.

ÒIf they can do it on the A31 at the Hogs Back they can do it here,Ó she said.

Inspector Tipping would appear to agree. He says he will support any measures which would improve the safety of the A339.

ÒAs the person responsible for policing this area, which includes traffic safety, I would do anything to persuade people to cut their speed.

ÒSigns have just been put up on the A339 to try and encourage bikers in particular to drive safely but this road, along with the A31 and the A32 are very fast, attractive roads for riders.Ó

He believes speed cameras could be the answer. ÒThey are a cheap way of policing fast roads - if drivers see camera signs they will slow down - itÕs expensive not to,Ó he said.

l Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed SundayÕs collisions to contact acting Sergeant Paul Underwood at Whitehill Traffic Police on 0845 045 45 45.