inspirational women
“I fought to save lives after my daughter lost hers”
Caroline Hobbs, 54, lives in France with her husband Paul, 56 W
hen I first tell people my story, few can believe how tragically ironic it is. If it were a film, some would deem it far- fetched, but for me it is unbearably true.
It begins with our move as a family to Detling, a small village in Kent. My husband Paul and I wanted to raise Joanne, now 35, Paul Jnr, 33, and Tom, 24, away from the dangers a large town or city can bring. Within five years, we’d also had Ben, now 23, and our youngest daughter Jade – the only child we hadn’t planned, but a most happy accident nonetheless. Our house was on a small country lane but the rest of the village was on the other side of a 70mph bypass. We soon realised it was the scene of many accidents – at least one a week – and there were no crossings, so we warned the kids never to go alone. Furious and fearful for my children’s safety, I vowed
I’d do all I could to get a bridge built so people could cross safely. I rang the local papers, began a petition and organised a demonstration. I was told, “There’s no money available for a bridge.” But I never gave up. Then one weekend, in December 2000, Paul and
I went to stay with friends in Canterbury, leaving the children at home with my mum, Margaret, then 69. I was Christmas shopping when Paul rang to say Mum and Jade had been knocked over on the road. Running through the city, I prayed they’d be alright. But by the time I reached the car Paul phoned again to say Mum had died but Jade had been taken to Maidstone Hospital. Devastated and in shock, I arrived too late. My beautiful little girl had gone – she was just eight years old. In the months that followed I was overcome by grief and anger and
the agony of disbelief. Despite this, the driver hadn’t been speeding so we never blamed him – we wrote to him so he knew that. My despair was that the very road I’d fought to make safer had killed my own mother and daughter. Many mornings I woke up and wondered if it had just been a very bad dream. I decided if the council wouldn’t build a bridge, I’d do it myself. I couldn’t let anyone else die. A man from the local paper helped me set up an appeal for Jade’s Crossing. We started with £68 – Jade’s life savings – then collected money and held sponsored walks. The response was unbelievable and donations poured in. Five weeks after Jade and Mum died there was another big crash, so we organised a demonstration to block the road. I went to every house in the village and 300 people came and sat in the road with us. Even people from other villages who’d read about what I was doing came and showed their support. In March 2001, the council finally agreed to build the bridge at a cost of £1.1 million. We donated £75,000 from the appeal. I didn’t believe what we’d achieved until Paul and I officially cut the ribbon on 31 August 2002. Seeing children walk across the bridge made me so happy, but also unbelievably sad that it was too late for my own daughter. Once the bridge was built, I continued campaigning for better road safety in schools, donating nearly £25,000 from the appeal to various projects in Kent. In April 2010, Paul and I moved to France. Leaving
was incredibly difficult, but the emotional toll of living within metres of where I’d lost my mother and youngest child was too immense. I’ll always feel angry that the bridge wasn’t built sooner, but I’m glad I was able to do something so Mum and Jade’s deaths weren’t in vain. I couldn’t bear to have lost them for nothing.
WWW.CANDIS.CO.UK | OCTOBER 2011 57
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