THE mother of a 23-year-old nurse who died after crashing off a Gwent road in 2019 has voiced her concerns over what she says are "inadequate" safety fences at the scene.

Jo Jones' daughter Laurie – a nurse from Pontllanfraith – had been driving home on the road between Ynysddu and Wyllie early on October 1, 2019, after a shift at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff when she crashed.

Her car had come off the road at a section of the road known as the Wyllie bends. A missing person appeal was issued after she didn't arrive back home from her shift, but  at around 1pm the following day her body was found inside her car in the nearby Sirhowy River.

An inquest into her death the following March found she had drowned after her car crashed into the river in heavy rain.

Caerphilly County Borough Council (CCBC) subsequently installed safety measures at the Wyllie bends, which consisted of concrete posts and chain-link fencing.

The speed limit on the road – which includes eight tight bends – was also reduced from 60mph to 40mph in summer 2020.

However, Ms Jones says she still feels "extremely concerned and worried for people's safety on the Wyllie bends".

This comes after reports of another accident at the blackspot - on Sunday, September 11.

Ms Jones says the type of fencing installed at the bends is “inadequate” and has also cited the cost  - £350,000, plus a prior spend of £50,000 for the audit to try to identify what safety measures were required.

"The fencing has never offered me confidence as an appropriate safety measure," she said.

"I still feel that crash barriers and better lighting on pinch points would certainly offer more safety and should slow down vulnerable vehicles, allowing other drivers time to react.

"Overall, it’s been a complete waste of public money and I’m not sure how many other fatal accidents or near-misses are required for the council to become serious and apply higher standards of safety to the Wyllie bends."

South Wales Argus:

Back in April, Laurie Jones' grandfather Leighton Reardon also highlighted concerns over the safety measures at the Wyllie bends.

However, CCBC have said that the fence on the stretch of road is one which is "commonly used all around the country in similar instances".

A spokesman said: “An independent road safety assessment has been carried out at this site and all recommendations for improvements have been implemented.

"Although there was no recommendation for fencing to be installed, the authority took the decision to also install this as an additional measure.

"The fence in question is a standard highway boundary fence commonly used all around the country in similar instances.”