ROAD safety campaigners will celebrate victory this month as �85,000 improvement work starts at Bedlam Bridge, near March.

Graham Chappell, founder of the Fenland Road Safety Campaign (Charlotte’s Way), has campaigned since 2008 to get the barriers, raising thousands of pounds to help pay for them.

The campaign was launched after the death of nine-year-old Charlotte Walker, who died when the car she was travelling in left the road and plunged into the water near Bedlam Bridge.

Four years later, safety work is about to start at the bridge, which dates back to the 1960s.

Cambridgeshire County Council, which is joint funding the improvements, will begin phase one of the work on November 26.

Fencing will be installed on the southern side of the bridge, while the northern side will be improved after Christmas.

Mr Chappell said: “Through a Local Highway Improvement bid, Charlotte’s Way and the county council have jointly funded a scheme to improve the safety of Bedlam Bridge and the adjacent junction.

“A panel of county councillors assessed all the bids on set criteria such as safety and community impact and the Charlotte’s Way proposal scored the highest out of all rural Fenland bids.”

The work on the southern side of the junction is expected to take around three weeks to complete with temporary traffic signals operating between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Friday.

Councillor Tony Orgee, cabinet member for community infrastructure, said: “I am delighted that by working together with the road safety campaign we have been able to identify the funding for the safety improvements at the Bedlam Bridge junction.”

NE Cambs MP Steve Barclay has supported the campaign - last year persuading Roads Minister Mike Penning to visit Bedlam Bridge.