'We used to lie in bed at night and hear the cars speeding outside'.

Byline: Lisa Jones

JODIE Howells has been watching drivers speeding on Willowbrook Drive ever since her three-year-old Joshua was killed on the road two years ago.

Three months ago, the 30-year-old decided she could not take the noise and the memory any longer.

She moved her family, who include her five other children Joel, 14, Kaleb, 12, Ethan, nine, Lily, seven and Lucas, four, away from the area where they had been growing up.

She added: "I tried for 19 months to stay in that house.

"If it did happen again and a child was killed I would've just crumbled. We used to lie in bed at night and hear the cars speeding past.

"I used to stand out on the road with a candle and the cars were going so fast the candle would blow out.

"It takes a split second for a child to get out of their back garden and onto the road.

"There are thousands of children in St Mellons and your eyes can't be everywhere.

"It's destroyed the whole family. I still haven't accepted what's happened. Our family is not complete any more.

"It's knocked me sideways as a mother because I can't deal with things as I used to. I can't get day-to-day things together.

"I will keep going year after year until this road is sorted.

"Until it happens to you, you are not willing to fight for it. It's a death trap."

Jodie, who used to live just off Willowbrook Drive in St Mellons, still visits her son Joshua's grave three times a week and says she thinks about him every day.

Josh was fatally injured when a Peugeot car driven by dustman Darren Jenkins, 25, of Arabella Street, Roath collided with him on the road.

Mr Jenkins was later cleared by a jury of causing death by dangerous driving.

On the two-year anniversary of the crash today, Jodie was leading a two-minute vigil in his memory on the St Mellons estate.

Police have organised a series of events as part of an operation named after Joshua to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding on the road and the continuing number of accidents.

Since his death there have been 65 incidents reported to police on the road, most of which have been minor crashes.

Acting Inspector Chris Fennessey, from St Mellons Police Station, said: "Two years have passed since Joshua sadly died but the memories of that tragic day are still very much in the minds of the local community and South Wales Police.

"We know that road safety, and speeding in particular, is an on-going concern for St Mellons residents and we want to help prevent further collisions by educating the public.

"This week dedicated resources will be targeting issues such as speeding, safe parking, and raising awareness with members of the community both adults and children."

St Mellons councillor Ralph Cook echoed calls for drivers on the road to slow down.

He said: "Willowbrook Drive is the most unsafe road in a residential area for children.

"It is the residential road in Wales with the most deaths in a five-year period.

"It was not designed with modern usage in mind and unfortunately quite a considerable number of the people who drive around the area don't take due care."

As part of the operation, there will be high-visibility patrols by support officers and police officers and speed cameras will be used.

Among the other children killed on Willowbrook Drive have been Jade Sanderson, 13, who was killed as she stepped off a school bus parked in a lay-by at Willowbrook Drive, on St Valentine's day in 2003.

Thomas Anthony Wall, 16, died after illegally driving a car up Willowbrook Drive and into a nearby embankment on April 30, 2005.

He died from his injuries on May 4.

CAPTION(S):

Jodie Howells is keeping up the fight for road safety after her son Joshua, below, was killed two years ago PICTURE: Peter Bolter [umlaut]