Safety barriers will soon be installed on a notorious canalside road where three teenagers lost their lives.

Underground preparation work has taken place along Broughton Road, Skipton, and barriers are expected to go up at Niffany Corner this month.

The road gained a deadly reputation following the deaths of three teenage girls in two separate accidents a year apart.

In both accidents, the drivers lost control of their cars, smashed through railings and went into the canal.

Almost 9,500 people signed a petition calling for safety measures.

North Yorkshire County Council, which approved the £150,000 project, said it hoped the measures would prevent a repeat of the fatal accidents.

County Councillor Gareth Dadd, executive member for highways and planning, said: “The council understands the strength of public feeling about this site.”

Sarah Woolmer and Larissa Moore were killed in April 2008 when a two-door car nosedived into the canal and the girls became trapped in the back.

In May 2009, 18-year-old Charlotte Wade, of Gargrave, died at the same spot. Robin Gibbs, a back seat passenger in the car, remains seriously ill in hospital.

Charlotte’s parents have supported calls for safety barriers and spoke at meetings of the Craven area committee of North Yorkshire County Council.

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