A memorial wreath-laying ceremony at a Mearns road accident blackspot was scrapped after police deemed it illegal.
Jill Fotheringham and fellow campaigners planned to lay a wreath at the A90 junction with the A937 road to Montrose at Laurencekirk to mark nine years since the campaign for a flyover began.
Tired of continually producing wreaths for families of tragic victims, florist Jill started pressuring politicians for action following the death of a young local man in a fatal crash at the junction in 2004.
She organised a wreath-laying ceremony at the blackspot junction yesterday evening to mark the ninth anniversary but said she was forced to change her plans after police told her it was unsafe and illegal.
Jill and MSPs Nigel Don and Alex Johnstone, along with councillors David May and George Carr had to retreat to Marykirk Village Hall following the police decision.
She said: “I got in touch with the police to tell them what was planned but I got a phone call saying we would not have police support.
“I was told it was illegal to put anything down on the road the verge being included and they were not prepared to make an exception for this.
“They were sympathetic to the cause but said it was too dangerous and I would be breaking the law by putting flowers down.
“I would argue that cars driving at excessive speed across that stretch of road is far more dangerous than a wreath lying at the side of the road.”
Jill said she hopes this is the last anniversary she has to mark because that would mean the campaign for a flyover had been successful.
She added: “I think it’s ridiculous that we have got to nine years. I think Transport Scotland have been reckless and they have played with the lives of people in the north-east for too long.”
The four miles of the A90 between Laurencekirk and Fourdon has claimed 11 lives since 2000.
Three people have died at the stretch in the last nine months alone, following a horrific 19-day period in 2001 when three separate crashes saw five deaths.
The junction is to benefit from a £100,000 Scottish Government funding package to look at a preferred design for accessing Laurencekirk from the A90.
Jill was unimpressed by the move and believes the money would be better spent on pouring concrete foundations into a flyover.
Alex Johnstone MSP said: “I would like to pay tribute to the tireless work of Jill Fotheringham who has constantly kept this important issue in the public eye. I will continue to support the campaign until appropriate action is taken.
“The bottom line is that the campaign will keep going until this junction has the necessary investment to make it safe for locals and visitors alike.
“If Police Scotland have banned the laying of a wreath for safety reasons, then this underlines just how dangerous the junction actually is, and sends a powerful message that the kind of tinkering with signage and the other half-baked efforts at improvement we have seen are simply not enough.”
Mr May said there was no doubt in his mind that the case for the junction is even greater now as the road is much busier.
“Although the minister has announced some extra funding, this will not solve the major problem, which is crossing the junction in both directions.
“How many more accidents and tragedies have to occur before the minister acts?”