THE man who was killed in a crash on Sunday morning has been named as William George Cooper, 30, of Mockbeggar Lane, Ibsley in Ringwood.

Mr Cooper was in a Ford Transit van which left the carriageway and struck a tree at 4.30am on the A338 between Fordingbridge and Ringwood.

He died at the scene.

Mr Cooper’s family have released this statement: “A fun-loving, warm hearted son, brother and uncle will be sadly missed by all his family and friends.”

Hampshire Police said the incident, which occurred on a bend between Hern Lane and Lawrence Lane, involved a white Ford Transit van which crashed into a tree at around 4.30am.

The notorious accident blackspot has claimed five lives in the last decade on the A338 near Fordingbridge.

Neighbours were first alerted to the incident when they saw blue lights flashing in the road outside their homes.

Peter Taylor, 72, and his wife Chris, 74, said their first thought had been “not another one”, in a stretch of road they said has seen at least six serious crashes in the past nine years.

“There is a good long straight road either side of the bend so people pick up speed, and a lot of cars overtake, but then they get to the corner and lose control,” said Mr Taylor.

“There need to be signs warning people it is a black-spot,” added Mrs Taylor, who said she is too frightened by passing traffic to cross the road to use the bus stop and has to travel into Ringwood and change to get the bus to Salisbury.

Neighbour Rosemary Jeff, 70, said they had seen cars come off the road and smash through hedges on both sides after coming round the bend – often causing the occupants serious injuries.

“They need to take out the bends in the road and straighten it up,” she said.

“We have lived here for 20 years and there’s been no end of trouble.”

Police closed the road for five hours while an investigation was carried out and recovery work undertaken.

They want to speak to the occupants of a black or dark-coloured vehicle who may have stopped to assist but left the scene before police arrived.

Contact Sergeant Adrienne Jerram in the Serious Collision Investigation team on 101, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Road has claimed lives

THE stretch of road between Ringwood and Fordingbridge has claimed five lives since the death of 20-year-old Debbie Merritt in 2004.

Four years later 39-year-old rally champion Paul Choat died in a crash near Blashford, and 25-year-old Andrew Callis was killed in a head-on collision with a double-decker bus.

In 2009, a young Poole woman was killed when her car collided with a lorry.

In 2010, 20-year-old Frazer Harbison died when his motorbike left the road.

Earlier this year an elderly couple had to be cut from their vehicle by the fire service following a crash just a short distance from Sunday’s incident.