Campaigners have handed a petition signed by 14,595 people to Downing Street, calling for the A1 in Northumberland to be dualled all the way to the Scottish border. The move follows a five-day walk from Berwick to Newcastle city centre organised by the Northumberland A1 Safety Alliance to highlight their demands for upgrades on the road.
The campaign comes after 22-year-old Erin Bennett was killed in a crash near Felton earlier this month, the eighth person to die on the A1 in the county so far in 2026. The petition, started by Alliance co-founder Kezz Petronelli-Stone, calls on ministers to commit to continuous dualling of the A1 to the border, after a previous scheme to upgrade 13 miles of single carriageway between Morpeth and Ellingham was shelved in 2024.
Hike gathers widespread support
Kezz was joined on the hike by Northumberland-based Instagram star Scott Fairnington, known as Scottyfairno, along with Conservative council cabinet member Guy Renner-Thompson and members of the Farmers Unite campaign group. The walk, which covered more than 70 miles and took in towns and villages including Alnwick, Ellingham, Felton, and Morpeth, ended at Grey's Monument last weekend before the campaign leaders travelled to London.
Kezz hopes the petition can reach 100,000 names by next February to trigger a debate in Parliament and has invited Prime Minister Andy Burnham to arrange a visit to see the problems on the A1 firsthand. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "We've cultivated a very strong following. I think though it started with the road it quickly came to symbolise the neglect we feel we're suffering. Our farmers, our small businesses, particularly our hospitality sector are absolutely on their knees. Hard working people are flogging themselves to bits with less and less to show for it."
Political response and next steps
Mr Burnham has signalled in recent months that his administration could be willing to revisit the A1 dualling, which was dropped by Sir Keir Starmer's government. Asked if he believed the PM would listen to Northumbrian voices on the issue, Kezz replied: "Yes. I don't think he is the kind of leader who could live with himself if he hadn't tried to do the right thing. Plus I think he admires people power and we certainly have shown we have that."
Scott told the LDRS he got involved due to a need to "help out in my local community and make a difference". His grandfather, Anthony Murray, was a long-serving Conservative councillor for Wooler who passed away in 2023 and had campaigned for the A1 to be dualled alongside former Berwick MP Alan Beith. Scott, who has almost 800,000 followers on Instagram and more than 485,000 on Facebook, said: "This is an important issue. The road is awful. I drive on it every day, and in the summer it is diabolical, it's just ridiculous. People don't take it seriously until it affects them. Something needs to be done."
Scottish Conservative MP John Lamont, who represents the borders constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, joined the campaigners at Downing Street on Thursday. Coun Renner-Thompson, who completed the first leg of the walk from Berwick to Belford, said: "The walk may look like a bit of fun but it's about raising awareness for a very serious issue we all face here in North Northumberland. We need people in London to take this seriously. People like Scotty Fairno and Kezz have a huge social media reach so I'm hoping this will tap into that audience that traditional media doesn't reach."
Mr Burnham has asked ministers and officials to explore "alternative ways" of funding the A1 dualling scheme. Since the Morpeth to Ellingham project was scrapped in 2024, having been deemed not to offer value for money, the Government has committed to carrying out junction improvements on known accident blackspots. A scheme has been announced for the Guyzance junction, with a focus on safety improvements on the southbound carriageway.
