A weekly newspaper has launched a campaign calling for a major road to be made into a dual carriageway in a bid to save lives.

Twenty-year-old Santino James of Yeovil died in a three-car collision on the A303 in Wiltshire last November as he drove home from Kent.

Now the Yeovil-based Western Gazette is lobbying the government for multi-million pound improvements to be made to the road which is the scene of one accident every six days.

Hundreds of people have already pledged their support by signing a petition including the local MP and Santino’s mum Gwen James.

Editor Emma Slee said: “What we are beginning to see is how strong a case we can build if we all join together. By combining our efforts, our voice becomes louder and our influence more powerful.

“The strength of feeling about this issue locally is clear. We now need to bring that to the attention of Whitehall.”

The paper’s Dual It campaign calls for major improvements on the stretch of road from the Southfields Roundabout near Ilminster to the Mere bypass, which is also hoped will boost the local economy.

It is urging the government to approve the dual carriageway scheme as part of a wider project to improve the A303 and A358, which it hoped would boost the economy by reducing congestion.

Yeovil MP and government minister David Laws has also backed the campaign and said: “I warmly welcome the Western Gazette’s campaign to upgrade the A303 and to improve local and regional transport links.

“The A303 is a key national route into and out of the South West. It is important for tourism and for the wider economy. But it is also an important route for more local and regional traffic, helping to connect up our constituency with the county town of Taunton, with the M5, and with other parts of our region.

“As a local MP, I have long argued for improvements to the A303. The alternating stretches of single and then dual carriageway are a guarantee of congestion and delay.”