Nearly 3,000 people have supported a Facebook campaign demanding safety improvements on the A47 near Dereham set up after the latest fatal crash.

Norwich Evening News: Police on the scene of an RTA at the A47 near Draytonhall Lane. Picture: Matthew Usher.Police on the scene of an RTA at the A47 near Draytonhall Lane. Picture: Matthew Usher. (Image: © Archant Norfolk 2013)

Emma Rose, a 22-year-old from Toftwood who commutes on the road, created the Make the A47, Dereham Safer page after Thursday's collision between a car and a lorry killed a 69-year-old man from Norwich.

Norwich Evening News: Police diversion near the scene of the fatal collision on the A47 at Scarning, DerehamPolice diversion near the scene of the fatal collision on the A47 at Scarning, Dereham (Image: Archant)

The man, who was in a silver Ford Focus, died at the scene, while the driver of the 7.5-tonne lorry was treated for a suspected hand injury and taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for treatment.

Police have not released the dead man's name.

Emma said: 'I was at work when I heard about the crash. I use the road every day to get to and from work as well as my family and friends.

'Every time there's a collision we say they need to some something with the road and I just thought there's no point me sitting here saying something about it, so why don't I do something about it, so I thought a good place to start would be a Facebook campaign.

'Some people have said it's only Facebook, why don't you do something proper, but within 24 hours I have got nearly 3,000 people and five different people have posted on the site they have been involved in accidents, some of them fatal, and people are messaging me if they can help with ideas.

'Something needs to be done about that stretch of road now.

'I just want to get something done about it. People are fed up with these accidents happening and they are starting to think 'I use this road and what if it happens to me'.

'We need to keep campaigning, get some petitions going and get them to the members of parliament and get them down to Downing Street.'

She said she has a petition on a government website pending.

Police were called to the scene, on the Swaffham-bound carriageway between the end of the dualled section of the A47 and the junction with Draytonhall Lane near Scarning, at 2.52pm.

Police said the car was travelling toward King's Lynn from the Dereham direction when it was in collision with the lorry, which was coming from the other direction.

The road was closed until after midnight in both directions between Draytonhall Lane and the junction near Dereham Tesco, to allow emergency services to carry out their investigations and clear the scene.

Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman, whose constituency includes this section of the A47, said: 'I contacted Stephen Hammond (roads minister) before Easter when we had that spate of crashes. The A47 Alliance have already been to see him and laid out the case for the A47. Before Easter I went have to see him. He has heard all the arguments and is very receptive, but I asked him to come up and we are

'I haven't heard the details of the latest incident, we need to wait for the report. There are bottlenecks where there are dangerous junctions and it goes from duelling to non duelling, but we need to wait and see what the details of this incident were.'

Thursday's crash follows a series of fatalities on the A47 around Dereham since Christmas, which led to renewed calls for the road to be dualled.

The collision happened close to the scene of a Valentine's Day collision which killed Kim Utting, a 52-year-old mother of three from Litcham, and injured her daughter. A third man was treated for serious injuries at Addenbrooke's Hospital.

Husband and wife John and Patricia Knight from Aylestone, near Leicester, died after a crash on the A47 at Wendling on Christmas Eve, while Bridget Walker, from Norwich, who was also injured, died three weeks later.

Billie-Jean Roberts and her daughter Annie Huizar were killed in a crash on the road at Hockering on March 9.

Roads policing officers would like to hear from anyone who believes they may have seen the collision.

Call Insp Chris Brooks at the Serious Collision Investigation Team at Norfolk police on 101.

*Among the Facebook messages are:

- Wayne Cross: 'I'm glad you started this page. Let's hope they actually realise there's a problem and it needs addressing. Because 3000 other people do!'

- Andrea Reed: 'As a mother whose son was killed on the A47 I think this a good idea. My son was killed at the Honingham junction and after doing a petition and going to Number Ten a roundabout was made. There are queues there and it is annoying but it's been eight years since David was killed and nobody else has died there.

- Michaela Spellacy-Toon: 'This is something that has got people's blood boiling. I was involved in a fatal accident near Hockering seven years ago and lost my son and my husband. This road is lethal. Something needs to be done about it. Someone has to listen. How many more people are going to die?

- Becky Alderton-Macleod: 'I HATE living/driving along this road.'

- Mick Norman: 'It should be dualled for the entire length. Car drivers get frustrated behind tractors and lorries restricted and overtake in dangerous situations.'

- Maria Blake: 'Very sad yet another life lost here. A car over took us at the same place last week and nearly took out a car coming the other way. The road is not always the problem; perhaps the people who use it should be more careful.'