FAMILIES of road accident victims joined in a tragic roadside memorial campaign launched yesterday on the anniversary of Princess Diana's death.

Small plaques appearing on verges and paths across the country mark the spot where a loved one was lost or badly injured.

The Remember Me signs are provided by RoadPeace, a national charity trying to prevent road deaths and highlighting injustices suffered by victims.

Behind every one is a heartbreaking tale of personal tragedy and of grief which will never go away.

One of the new signs is on the road between Crook and Howden-le-Wear where teenager Lynsey Richards died in a car accident last March.

Although the 17-year-old, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, had a return bus ticket in her handbag, she accepted a lift home following a night out with a friend in Crook.

Less than a mile down the road the car she was travelling in with three others, was in collision with a taxi.

Lynsey suffered massive internal injuries and had to be cut free from the red Vauxhall Nova's mangled wreckage.

Lynsey died but the driver and other two passengers escaped with barely a scratch.

Less than six months on, Lynsey's family are still unable to come to terms with the grief and rage over their loss.

Lynsey's 22-year-old sister, Natalie, speaks for her parents, Brian and Margaret. She protects her younger sister's memory, just as she looked out for her when she was alive.

Natalie said: "My sister should not have died. She was the sensible one and would never normally have accepted a lift.

"She was always happy, always smiling. We were friends as well as sisters and I miss her so much."

Natalie's baby son, Finlay, was born on the Monday night before the tragedy and Lynsey had spent every minute she could with her new nephew.

She had left school the previous summer and was carving out a career in accountancy.