A hard-hitting theatre production used real-life tales from people affected by road accidents to encourage youngsters to drive responsibly. Reporter ALISON WHITE was in the audience.

ROAD safety partners have introduced live theatre in a bid to save the lives of young drivers on Kent's roads.

The £55,000 Licence to Kill production was shown to 669 pupils at the Woodville Halls Theatre, Woodville Place, Gravesend on January 30 as part of its tour of four venues in Kent.

It targets sixth-formers, aged 17 to 18, because nearly 500 young people aged 17 to 24 have been killed or seriously injured on Kent's roads in the past three years.

Each pupil was given a white or pink raffle ticket when they entered the theatre.

Everyone with a pink ticket had to stand up, indicating the number of 17 to 24-year-olds killed or seriously injured on the county's roads in 2005.

The production began with a DVD of a fictional car crash.

It was stopped at regular intervals and a paramedic came on stage to tell the audience about their job and accounts of accidents they have attended.

Finally, people affected by road accidents - including an 18-year-old who lost his arm and suffered brain damage - told their stories.

Paramedic Geoff Fitch told how the father of a young girl involved in an accident travelled in front of the ambulance transporting her to hospital.

During the journey, the girl stopped breathing and para-medics tried to revive her.

He told the students: "Dad was looking through the little peep-hole seeing his little girl die."

Marion Cornick told the crowd about the moment she heard her daughter Tally had been killed after being hit by a car driven by an 18-year-old boy.

She said: "My brain went numb, I could not take it in.

"You think how it must have been to be alone in the last few moments at the roadside.

"If I can make someone be a bit more careful, then it might make sense of the whole tragic affair."

The show was organised by Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Kent County Council, Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership, Kent police, Medway Council and the South East Coast Ambulance Service.

DEVASTATING IMPACT

REPORTER Alison White had a friend die in a road accident. She gives her reaction to the show.

"It is hard to imagine the devastating impact a car accident can have until you are directly affected by one.

"When I was 19 my friend was killed when her car hit a tree.

"I will never forget the sight of her parents gripping each other for support as they followed the funeral procession, or her brother's tears as his choice of song for his sister played in the church.

"Her life was tragically cut short. Every young person should think about the consequences before they get behind the wheel of a car.

"The production was vitally important to show how a split-second moment in a car can have life-changing outcomes for many people."