Chatteris town councillor Chris Howes and his partner Christine Colbert are continuing to campaign for further safety measures, despite last month's announcement by Cambs County Council of hopes to introduce cameras. The pair – pictured right with their petition – have continued to collect signatures and now have 2,000.

"There is a strong feeling physical measures are needed to prevent vehicles going into the water," said Christine.

However, at a recent press conference Mac McGuire, Cambridgeshire's member for highways, said other measures had been looked at but the soil type and narrow bank meant barriers were unlikely to work and would be difficult or impossible to install.

Plans are also in hand to introduce a drivers' education scheme to encourage motorists to drive more safely along roads like the Forty Foot.

There will also be information on what to do if a car does end up in the water.

Chris and Christine are concerned that this will not be enough. They claim an experiment by TV programme Top Gear showed it was unlikely occupants could escape safely once a car was in the water.