The landlord and landlady of the pub opposite the scene of a double fatal crash say something must be done to force down the speed of traffic entering Teynham to prevent another tragedy.

Phil Hope and Rebecca Anderson, who have been running the Dover Castle in London Road for two years, were among the first on the scene of the crash which killed Michael Shepherd and Karl Buchan, both from Faversham, on New Year's Day.

Now they plan to campaign to make the road safer.

Mr Hope said: “I’m going to head up a petition to try to slow cars down.

“I’ll be putting petitions in every shop, restaurant and pub. It’s deadly, this road, especially late at night.

“It goes from 60 or 70 down to 30 in no time – the speed needs to be reduced earlier.

“It’s something we are going to push very hard for. We’ll work at it until it’s done. We cannot allow this to happen again.”

"I felt it in my feet" - pub landlord Phil Hope on the impact of the crash that killed two men

The landlord was working behind the bar when the crash happened.

“I felt it in my feet,” he said.

“We were serving and it was last orders. Then I saw a couple of the lads go across to the window. We just went out the door followed by a few locals.

“The first thing I saw was the monument had gone. I was scanning around and then saw the car on its roof on the drive and front garden.

“A couple went to see if anyone was in the car and helped the girl out.

“There was a bit of smoke and you could smell petrol so we got fire extinguishers.”

Mr Hope said he and others helped with administering CPR on the other two casualties but they could not be saved.

Commenting on the days after the crash, he added: "I’ve spoken to a few who were there and some are dealing with it better than others. Those poor kids. Our hearts go out to the families."

His priority now, he said, was to get a petition together to demand changes are made.

“Lots of different measures could be taken," he said. "The obvious one is a chicane to slow traffic completely before it gets into the village. They’ve got them through Doddington.

“Whether a speed camera would work, I do not know. If we get one, or both, I will be happy.”

The double tragedy means the death toll on the A2 between Sittingbourne and Faversham has reached five in just seven years.

In September, motorcyclist Andrew Beaney, 51, was killed when his bike was involved in a collision with a car at the junction with Hempstead Lane in Bapchild.

Fourteen-year-old Sittingbourne Community College pupil Kyle Coen died after being knocked off his bike near Bapchild Cricket Club in July 2012.

Mary Chastney, who was 76, died in February 2009 when her car was one of three that collided at the junction with Faversham Road to Newnham.

Meanwhile, Ryan Prytherch was 16 when he was left with devastating injuries, including a broken pelvis, after being hit by a car near Hempstead Lane, Bapchild in January last year.

His family said he had been lucky to have survived.

Teynham Parish Council chairman Brian Sharman said changes to the speed limit could improve the road’s safety in the long term.

“Between Sittingbourne and Rainham it’s 50mph and there are lights along there,” he added.

“You come out of Sittingbourne towards Faversham and immediately the lights finish and it’s national speed limit.”