THE devastating effects of speeding were shown today when a local man told his story at the launch of a new "Kill Your Speed" safety campaign.

Mark Lavery, aged 27, had his life and confidence shattered and even lost his job when he hit a young girl who ran out in front of him while he was driving a van down a residential street in Manchester.

He was travelling at just over 30 mph, but lies awake every night thinking what might have happened had he been going that little bit faster.

"She would be dead," he said. "If I shut my eyes I can still see her head smashing through my windscreen and her bouncing off the bonnet like a rag doll."

Mark, who lives in Seddon Street, Westhoughton, was a van courier at the time of the accident, but said his confidence and nerves were so shaken he lost his job.

"I just wasn't doing my job properly," he said. "Every time I saw someone on the pavement I would almost stop."

The 13-year-old girl suffered many injuries but has since made a good recovery. Her father is also convinced that she would have been killed if the van had been travelling only a few miles per hour faster. He was also at today's launch.

Mark was told the accident wasn't his fault and there was nothing he could have done by a policeman who was a witness nearby. But he says that doesn't stop him feeling guilty.

"The message about killing your speed really needs to get across," he said. "Just the fraction of a second or one mile per hour can make all the difference."

The Kill Your Speed initiative was launched today by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions at Manchester Town Hall.

Inspector Brian Ritson, Greater Manchester Police's road safety officer, said: "Lives can be saved if drivers adhere to the speed limits and where necessary reduce their speed even further, especially in residential streets near schools.

"In the forthcoming campaign we will be actively encouraging the speed limits across the county."

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