THERE are few things that are more poignant than seeing a collection of flowers, messages and soft toys at the side of the road.

These tributes are now synonymous with a desire to rember the victims of tragic road accidents.

On the continent, this marking of the death of a loved one is relatively standard practice. In Greece elaborate roadside shrines are erected.

In North America it is common practice for Indians to place markers by the road at accident sites.

But in England, where bereavement has normally been regarded as one's own private affair, the need to express sorrow for everyone to see is a fairly new phenomena.

A rainbow of flowers were laid as a tribute to Jamie Gosney, 15 and Lewis Grundy, 17, who lost their lives in a tragic moped accident.

Messages such as "Both of you will be missed forever", nestled among more than 100 bouquets which have been left at Brownhill Way, Nursling.

A small purple teddy bear embroidered with the words "Thinking of you" and pictures in plastic wallets attached to shrubs were carefully placed among the flowers.

But now this spontaneous outpouring of grief has started to deteriorate . . .

Flowers are being blown around in the wind, on to the road and stuck in trees, creating what has been called an eyesore.

One Test Valley councillor has said it is time that the flowers were removed.

Nigel Anderson, ward councillor for Nursling, Chilworth and Rownhams, has been in touch with the council's litter department and asked that action be taken.

He said: "There is a lot of concern about whether this floral tribute should be cleared up.

"The litter people at Test Valley don't know if they should do it. The flowers are getting tatty and I've driven by there often enough to see that.

"The accident happened some six weeks ago and I hope people are ready to move on."

Councillor Anderson said he would be speaking to the cleansing department again in the future.

Despite Councillor Anderson's view of this particular floral tribute, across Hampshire local authorities take an altogether more sympathetic view.

"We haven't a policy on roadside tributes at present, although it is something we're looking into," said Sarette Martin, spokesman for Hampshire County Council.

"There's no set time that we leave floral tributes before removing them. Obviously we wouldn't want to compound an already sensitive situation by removing tributes when we deem a suitable time has lapsed.

"We'd only remove memorials if they were becoming a nuisance or a hazard to other road users.

"If we did consider a memorial constituted a road safety hazard we'd post a polite notice on site outlining our concerns.

"Regarding permanent memorials, we'd resist anything that could be construed as a structure, for example a stone memorial.

"However, we're normally agreeable to the planting of a small bush back from the edge of the carriageway, and we wouldn't want something planted in a location that could put at risk the people visiting it.

"If residents have particular concerns regarding roadside memorials - whether it's the size or style of the memorial itself or because the floral tributes have died and are looking unsightly - they should contact their local Hampshire Highways office to find out if we can assist. We would judge each case individually."

Southampton City Council also takes a very sympathetic view on floral tributes.

"We try to work with the bereaved family," said John Martin of the council's open spaces team.

"We will leave the flowers until they have died off completely and then remove them.

"If the tribute is causing an obstruction to a road sign or is causing traffic to slow down because it is a distraction then something would have to be done.

"The last thing we want is a tribute to cause another accident."

The custom of leaving floral tributes seems to have gained momentum since the Hillsborough soccer disaster and the Kings Cross station fire.

Psychologists say that there are two basic levels at which this practice works.

Firstly and most simply, the family and close friends of the deceased wish to visit and mark the site of a tragedy.

It is a private and individual "pilgrimage" to a site, the flowers being placed as a form of remembrance and respect - an act of love, but also a cathartic act.

A secondary function is that the tribute can serve as a warning to other road-users.

In the case of high-profile tragedies, there is a sense in which people sending or placing floral tributes (and other things, such as toys at a site where a young child has been killed) are purging their horror that things like this can happen in our society.

It is an act of remembrance, too, and of solidarity, a symbolic coming together of the community in mourning, and an expression of strangers' support for the bereaved.

In 2003, an alternative to leaving floral tributes at the roadside was introduced by UK charity RoadPeace.

Hundreds of "Remember Me" signs have been put up on roadsides around the country.

The small plaques which display a single red flower on a black background and carrying the message "Remember Me" are being used to mark the places where someone has been killed or seriously injured in a road crash.

RoadPeace is the national charity for road traffic victims. Brigitte Chaudhry, national secretary, said: "We would like to see the sign erected automatically wherever someone is killed or seriously injured in a road crash - to highlight the scale, remember victims and prevent future tragedies."