Teresa Grimes' friends call for speed bumps on West End High Street

Tina Giles, 41, wants to see speed bumps put in along West End High Street.

Her friend and pub landlady Teresa Grimes died in a crash on the road in December.

Teresa, who ran West End Brewery with her husband Brian, was hit by a BMW driver.

Tina worked with and was friends with Teresa for nine years, and is now determined to make the road safer in light of her death.

READ MORE: Hundreds of mourners gather for funeral of popular landlady 

'Shock has not changed anyone'

Tina Giles (centre, wearing red) with West End Brewery staff members and Teresa Grimes' loved ones (Image: Newsquest)

She said: “I wanted to do this as I couldn’t save my friend but I can save someone else from going through what I did.

“Since the death of my friend Teresa before Christmas... it has not shocked anyone into slowing down on the road.

“I sit outside the brewery sometimes and I see people use the road as a racetrack.

“Teresa wasn’t just someone I worked with; she was a very good friend."

She added: "Until something tragic happens, you never think anything bad could happen to you.”

'I will do anything'

Teresa, Oliver and Brian Grimes (Image: Grimes family)

The petition was created on February 1 and has since amassed more than 600 signatures with a target of 1,000.

Tina has also been collecting paper signatures from residents and workers in West End.

READ NEXT: 'The heart of everything' - husband's tribute ahead of landlady's funeral

She said: “I will do anything to slow people down. At the moment, the road is being used as a racetrack and something needs to be put in place to stop people from speeding."

She added: "Even if this didn’t happen to someone that I knew, I still would have gone ahead with the petition as no one is taking any notice.

“I have not just lost a friend, I have lost a person I could talk to about anything.

“I feel lost, so to get the full number of signatures would mean a lot.”

She added: “I couldn’t save Teresa but if I can stop other people from suffering the way we are, then I will have achieved something.”

'Fully supportive'

Paul Holmes, MP for Eastleigh, said he was made aware of the petition last week.

He said: "My thoughts go out to the family of the landlady who was tragically killed. Road safety is obviously a really important issue.

"After being made aware of the petition I have now written to Hampshire County Council to ask for a highways assessment of the site to see what mitigation measures need to be put in there.

"It's a decision for Hampshire County Council and I am fully supportive of residents' efforts to try and get an assessment or speed humps or some kind of traffic mitigation.

"It's quite clear that from a tragic incident like this, there should always be an investigation as to how to make these roads better and safer for people." 

Speaking on the petition, councillor for West End and Horton Heath, Steven Broomfield said: "I am aware of residents’ concerns, and I will be talking to Cllr Adams-King. 

"I will get a view from him and his officers and we will see where we will go forward. 

"I can certainly understand people’s concerns at the moment."

The petition can be signed here.

Hampshire police have confirmed that enquiries into the crash on West End High Street in are ongoing.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article on the Daily Echo. Your support means we can bring you the latest breaking news, exclusive Saints features and coverage - and much more.

Digital subscribers get unrestricted access to all of our stories, our dedicated app including e-version of the newspaper, and an advertising-light website.

If you want all the latest articles delivered straight to your inbox you can join the thousands of subscribers who are signed up to our newsletters.

They include our popular daily morning news briefing, breaking news, crime and court, and Southampton FC bulletins - plus business, heritage and our what's on newsletters.