Police act to curb behaviour at Cannock Road crash site where two friends died
Rowdy mourners gathering at the site of a car crash in which two men died could be arrested if they cause distress to residents, police have said.
Will Craddock and Kaya Morrison-Taylor, both aged 22 and from Walsall, were killed on the A460 Cannock Road on the outskirts of Wolverhampton on August 1.
A third man, Alfie Peakman, 22, was critically injured in the collision and was the only survivor when the convertible Audi the three men were in crashed into a telegraph pole and a tree on Cannock Road in Westcroft, near Essington.
Flowers, balloons, cards, candles and t-shirts were left at the side of Cannock Road, near the junction with Wood Hayes Road, where the owner of the garden that the car ended up in had put up a sign dedicated to the crash victims.
Police, however, say there has been confrontation between visitors to the site and local people together with antisocial behaviour and they - backed by South Staffordshire Council and Staffordshire County Council - have implement a "dispersal order" under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
Chief Inspector David Wain said: “I fully understand the sensitivity in respect of this particular location and that people need to grieve, however a minority of individuals have left alcohol and other items at the scene, which is causing distress to residents and causing danger to local children.
"There have been a number of confrontations with local people on a very busy stretch of road and we do therefore need to ensure that people are kept safe.
"My staff will be supporting our partners to ensure the site is cleared.
"If individuals do congregate there and are causing a disturbance we will ask them to leave.
"If there is continued anti-social behaviour, there is the option to make arrests, but I need to emphasise this is a preventative cause of action and this will be a last resort."
Councillor Roger Lees, leader of South Staffordshire Council, said: “This action is being put into place to reassure local residents who have felt distressed by the accident itself, and for the safety of those regularly gathering at the side of the road.
"My priority is to help keep people in South Staffordshire safe and I would urge people to do what they can to help achieve this.”
David Williams, cabinet member for highways and transport at Staffordshire County Council, added: “Keeping pedestrians, residents and motorists safe is our top priority, and whilst we do understand that people gathering can be part of the grieving process this should not in turn have a negative effect on the local community.
"This is also a very busy road and our priority is to help keep everyone safe.”
The convertible Audi the three men were in had been chased by police before the crash following an assault outside Fever nightclub in Cannock - five miles away from where the car left the road.
