The heartbroken parents of a teenager who died after an accident on the A64 near York today demanded action to spare other parents the same trauma.

Chris and Colin Sanders, whose son Jamie suffered fatal injuries at the notorious Bilbrough Top accident blackspot, spoke out after Evening Press inquiries revealed how a similar danger zone on the A1 has been tamed by tough traffic calming measures.

A 50 mph limit, backed up by speed cameras and coupled with overhead lighting, has cut the number of accidents at Elkesley in Nottinghamshire by more than two thirds, and slashed the number of deaths and serious injuries even more dramatically.

The dangers relate to a gap in the dual carriageway central reservation, just like Bilbrough Top, where there were at least three crashes in January alone in addition to Jamie's accident.

The Sanders, from Northallerton, said today that a 50 mph limit, cameras and lights should be introduced at Bilbrough Top, just like Elkesley.

"We have lost our son and it has changed our lives. It has devastated us. He was such a lovely boy, so helpful and loving.

"We can't bring him back but we want to save someone else from going through what we have been through."

The Highways Agency said today that other steps were planned to improve safety at Bilbrough, including signs warning motorists of pedestrians crossing the dual carriageway.

Police said the costs involved in setting up and running speed cameras meant they were simply not a feasible option at this moment.

But the Sanders claimed that the costs involved should not be allowed to stand in the way.

"What money can you put on a life?" asked Mrs Sanders. "How many lives are they prepared to sacrifice before they do something?"

Her calls were supported by the chairman of Bilbrough Parish Council, Sam Esler.

Mrs Sanders told how her 16-year-old son had just begun his second week of working at a garage at Bilbrough and was running across the dual carriageway to catch a bus to York when he was hit by a car and suffered fatal injuries. She said she did not blame the driver but the road conditions.

She said Jamie had been enjoying his new job working at the garage reception "he had found his little niche in life and was absolutely full of it" but had expressed concern about the dangers of getting across the road only days before the accident.

"He said how the road was awful to cross."

The couple praised nurses at York District Hospital intensive care, where Jamie was treated until he died, for treating both Jamie and them with such humanity and compassion.

Updated: 08:59 Thursday, April 12, 2001