A LEADING Southend company has donated almost £100,000 to pay for road safety signs on the A127 to stop accidents.

A staff member at Olympus KeyMed raised concerns about traffic pulling in and out of the Alton Garden Centre on to the busy A127.

The Stock Road-based company, led by Michael Woodford, has now donated £95,000 to Essex County Council to pay for the installation of a vehicle activated sign warning drivers approaching the garden centre there may be traffic queuing.

Olympus KeyMed, which develops and manufactures medical equipment, has supported road safety projects across south Essex for years and part-funded the average speed cameras on the A127.

Melanie Jessen, spokeswoman for the company, said: “Following comments from our staff who had safety concerns in relation to the queuing traffic on the A127 at peak times, Olympus KeyMed has supported this project on a purely altruistic basis and in the interests of a safer environment for our staff and the residents of, and visitors to, Southend.”