A SERVICE of remembrance for road crash victims will hold its fifth event in Durham Cathedral on Saturday.

The event, which has previously been supported by the Poet Laurette and Channel 5’s Police Interceptors, will see hundreds of affected families and communities coming together to remember the lives of their lost loved ones.

Janet Thompson, whose son Jake was killed when a lorry driver accelerated through a changing traffic light on a pedestrian crossing in 2011, said: “Not a single day goes by when my husband, John, and I do not think about our wonderful son, Jake.

“This service of remembrance allows us to have a few moments of stillness and reflection in what is an otherwise busy world.”

Recent statistics show that road deaths are particularly high among pedestrians, accounting for more than a quarter of all road deaths from 2007 to 2017.

Recent statistics also found the number of pedestrian deaths in the UK increased by five per cent between 2016 and 2017.

David Robinson, chairman of RoadPeace North-East and specialist road traffic accident solicitor at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “Road death does not discriminate on economic, religious or social grounds and it has a devastating impact on families and communities.

"This service provides those suffering with an opportunity to come together and remember lives lost on the roads.”