CAMPAIGNERS for safer driving are remembering those who lost their lives on the road at a special church service this month.

It will be particularly poignant after three Wyre Forest people were killed in road accidents last month.

Two young men died and two of their colleagues were critically hurt on their way to work when their van was in collision with a tanker in Mid-Wales, while a Bewdley woman died two days later when her vehicle was swept away after storms turned a ford into a torrent near Cleobury Mortimer.

Twelve people have died on the roads in Wyre Forest in the last 12 months and the RoadPeace Service of Remembrance will involve many people who deal with tragedies in their working lives.

Firefighters, police, ambulance personnel, media and hospital staff will be joining relatives and friends of victims for the evening at St Ambrose Church, Kidderminster.

Former Kidderminster Hospital chaplain, Canon Paul Brothwell, and Father Douglas Lamb will lead the service when those who have lost loved ones are invited to write the names of victims on a symbolic oak leaf for remembrance in prayers.

Acorns will also be handed out as a symbol of regeneration.

Those touched by road tragedy are asked to plant them to produce an oak tree as a symbol of life and a lasting reminder of a loved one.

Former Kidderminster police superintendent Peter Picken, who is a member of Wyre Forest RoadPeace, said: "This annual service raises awareness of the trauma experienced by families when they have lost a relative or friends in a road accident. Hopefully, it makes everyone think about the way they approach their driving".

He added: "It is only when you are touched by the tragedy of losing someone in a road crash or having someone seriously injured on our roads that the enormity of the pain, loss and suffering becomes apparent.

"Nationally, on average, 10 people lose their lives on our roads each day and 33,000 a year are seriously injured. We must do all we can to try and reduce this suffering."

The RoadPeace charity was established in 1992 to support the bereaved after fatal road accidents.

The service will be on Sunday, November 21 at 6.30pm and is open to everyone.

Those who would like loved ones remembered in the prayers are invited to attend the service or, alternatively, can fill in the coupon on this page and send it to RoadPeace Service, Shuttle/Times and News, Blackwell Street, Kidderminster DY10 2DY.

I would like............................. ...........................................................................who was a road accident victim on ................................................

to be remembered in prayers at the RoadPeace Service of Remembrance at St Ambrose Church, Kidderminster, on Sunday, November 21 at 6.30pm.