THE DANGER from traffic at Cox's corner, Callington, could cause a fatal accident, the town council heard last week.

The council was told that it was responsible for the safety of its road network and its inaction 'could have fatal consequences'.

A series of accidents has occurred at the traffic light junction, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to vehicles and to buildings.

Heavy lorries have hit the building at the corner of Fore Street, where there is a small shopping arcade and a block of flats. Efforts to get the problem fixed have come to nothing over a number of years.

Kevin Oliver, joint managing director of the Callington company KJR Synergy, wrote to the council urging it to change the position of the traffic light island to reduce the risk of further accidents. The work needed to be done quickly before anything worse happened, he said.

After two accidents on November 14 and 15, Mr Oliver's company sent a claim for £105.74 to Cornwall County Council's transportation and estates department, the cost of repairs to sewerage pipework.

Mr Oliver has threatened to keep sending invoices for repairs to the council and to 'make life unbearable' for the officials involved until something is done about the junction.

Councillor Jeremy Gist said at the town council meeting that lorries were committing 'hara-kiri' at the junction.

In a recent incident the mains electricity had been knocked out, which had caused a lot of aggravation, he said. The electricity lead remained live for a long time afterwards and if anyone had touched it the outcome could have been fatal. At the same time sewage had run out on to the pavement.

'This can't be allowed to continue,' he said.

Mr Gist accused the county highways department of 'not taking any notice' of the town council.

It was agreed to fax the county highways department requesting that two new signs be put up as soon as possible.

One of them should be outside the industrial estate, to instruct heavy goods vehicles to turn left along the bypass into Saltash Road and come from there straight to the traffic lights.

The other should be on the Tavistock Road on the approach to the traffic lights to route HGVs not coming from the industrial estate to go left and turn at the roundabout towards the traffic lights.

It is hoped that these signs may provide a cheap solution to the problem — if not the council may have to consider more drastic and more expensive options.