HIGHWAY chiefs could decide to cut the speed limit on a twisting Hampshire road where an internationally renowned surgeon was killed.

Hampshire County Council is asking the New Forest National Park Authority and other organisations if the 50mph on the A337 south of Brockenhurst should be reduced to 40mph or even 30mph.

It follows the death of spinal expert Nick Boeree, a consultant at Southampton General Hospital and the Nuffield Health Wessex Hospital in Chandler’s Ford.

Mr Boeree, 53, was riding a Yamaha FJR motorbike when he was involved in a head-on crash with a Volvo lorry in March.

The accident happened on a sharp bend half a mile from the level crossing at Brockenhurst station.

Cllr Thornber represents Brockenhurst and discussed the issue at a meeting of the parish council, which heard that the 30mph limit through the centre of the village could be extended further south.

He stressed that the county council had yet to receive the final police report on the cause of the tragedy.

But he said Mr Boeree’s death had highlighted concerns about the road and announced that highway bosses would be consulting the police, the National Park Authority and the parish council.

“I want Brockenhurst to tell me if they believe that the 50mph limit should be reduced,” added Cllr Thornber. There have been concerns about the speed of traffic and the number of accidents that have occurred all the way to the Pilley Inn.”

Parish council chairman Russell Horne added: “Because of all the bends on that stretch of road there could be a case for reducing the speed limit, regardless of the accident.”

Mr Boeree, who was married with three children, had homes in Bramshaw and Portmore, near Lymington.

He led a team of specialists who treated a range of back problems and was also the principal developer of an implant now widely used around the world in spinal operations.

In a statement released a few days after his death his family said: “His death is a devastating blow to his friends and family and the many patients whose lives he changed for the better.”