BEREAVED families have reacted with anger to news that floral tributes car crash victims are being removed from the roads of Epping Forest.

The Corporation of London, which manages the forest, confirmed that it removed tributes and a wooden plaque to the memory of 30-year-old Patrick O’Driscoll who died when his car left the road and hit a tree in Goldings Hill, Loughton, in September last year.

The removal was spotted by Celia Taylor from Loughton when she drove past the site. She said she could not understand why it had been taken away.

She added: “I can understand removing personal affects from the site of a fatal accident but found it hard to understand why the wooden memorial plaque left by the boys parents had been removed.

“It was a tasteful and fitting reminder to others that it is a very dangerous stretch of road that has claimed numerous lives. Perhaps by leaving it there it would serve as a reminder to others to slow down.”

A spokesman for The Corporation of London said: “We did place signs advertising that we would remove them weeks in advance, we placed a sign with our contact details asking the family to get in touch. The Essex County Council Highways contractors said that it was becoming a distraction.”

The issue hit the headlines last week when Derbyshire County Council became the first in the country to impose a formal time limit on roadside tributes claiming they acted as a dangerous distraction for drivers.

But their policy has been condemned by families who believe that the tributes act as invaluable indicators of accident blackspots.

Stephen Lawley from Stanford Rivers Road in Chipping Ongar lost his eldest son Adam, aged 21, on his way from from work,in a single car accident on London Road near Stapleford Tawney in November last year.

He drives past the site daily and said that being able to lay flowers where his son died had helped him, his wife, family and hundreds of friends through the grieving process.

He said: “The argument that Roadside markers and flowers take your eyes and attention off the road is a weak one.

"They are more of a reminder of what can happen and encourage people to drive more carefully. They therefore have a positive affect on the wider community."

He added: "There are massive billboards advertising things along the motorway- why are these okay but not tributes?”

Essex County Council say they do not operate a specific timeframe and ‘judge each case individually’.

A spokesman said: “The West Area Highways Office does not operate a set time for their removal, unless they are permanent tributes which require licences. If there is a need for a tribute to be removed then we always attempt to liaise with the family before doing so.”