IT IS a notoriously busy road that cost one resident his life when he tried to cross it earlier this year.

Now people campaigning for a safer crossing on the A326 in Dibden Purlieu are concerned about the inevitable rise in traffic if the Hythe Ferry is axed.

Every year 400,000 passengers use the ferry to get to Southampton and many would be forced to get behind the wheel without it.

Peter Chivers, 57, lives just yards from the A326 and is part of a residents group desperate for the county council to improve the safety of the road.

"People do use the ferry and you could well get about another ten per cent using the A326 if the ferry stopped running," said Mr Chivers, of Oak Road.

"A lot of people use the ferry during rush hour to get to and from work. Many of those people would have to go on the main road when it's already at its most busiest in both directions."

Mr Chivers, a town planning consultant who works from home, uses the ferry once a week to go to various jobs and meetings in the city centre.

"I think if the county council had more foresight in trying to provide more money for the ferry then they could probably reduce the amount of traffic on the main road and reduce their costs involved there," he said.

The A326 is the main route from the Waterside into Southampton and is the oil tanker route northwards from the Fawley refinery. Dibden Purlieu residents say they take their life in their hands every time they attempt to cross the 60mph road to reach the New Forest.

Frank Harrison, 83, of Noads Way, was taking two dogs for a walk when he was hit by a car and killed in January.

More than 3,000 people, including Mr Harrison himself before he died, signed a petition calling for a safe crossing to be provided on the road, which is already used by more than 32,000 vehicles a day.

The Daily Echo launched a campaign to save the ferry after White Horse Ferries revealed that they could not afford to pay a massive business rates hike. The rise would eventually cost the heavily subsidised company thousands of extra pounds that they cannot afford to pay.