A GRIEVING dad’s plea to improve road safety at a junction where his son was killed has been refused.

Tony Bernard urged the Highways Agency to close a central reserve gap where former Bournemouth School pupil Steve, pictured below, died more than nine years ago. But, after a long battle, the Highways Agency has refused his request.

Steve, 18, died alongside two of his friends while attempting to negotiate the junction on the A27, near Chichester.

Since then Tony, who runs the successful Steve Bernard Foundation raising money for good sporting causes, has been campaigning for change in memory of his son, a sports enthusiast and rising football star.

He joined forces with A27 Action, a group lobbying the government to improve the busy route.

A letter from David Brewer, executive director at the Highways Agency said: “We have given this serious consideration but we have no plans at the moment to close the central reserve gap on the A27 at the junction with the B2233 at Nyton Lane.”

He said the decision was based on a review of the road’s incident statistics and a ‘gap closure feasibility study’.

The agency said it has assessed the last five years of accident statistics which showed there has been six slight and one serious accident at the Nyton Lane junction.

Mr Brewer also said improvements have been made to the kerb lines and signs at the junction. Mr Brewer said Sussex Police were concerned there would be a “greater risk of collisions occurring elsewhere on the surrounding network” as a result of the closure.

“It’s a bit ironic because both the police and the council said to us at the time of the accident that they would like to see the gap closed but it was down to the Highways Agency,” said Mr Bernard.

“Anything that will improve safety and save people’s lives has to be a bonus.

“They seem to think that more people should be killed there before they can do anything.”