Family's fencing petition after pet dog killed on the A1

Derek Hornsey was returning home to Tranent after walking Darcy near Meadowmill last Thursday evening.

Unfortunately, the four-year-old Cavapoo – a cross between the Cavalier King Charles spaniel and poodle – is thought to have climbed the embankment at the underpass linking Tranent to the sports centre and was struck by a vehicle.

Derek, who works for Royal Mail, said: “I was coming back; I have her on the lead when I am going round the town or round the streets but there I tend to let her off the lead.

“She is fine with recall usually and never had an issue.

“Even when I got to the car park, because of lockdown, there were only one or two [cars] parked.

“I just kept her off lead and was heading towards the path to go under the underpass and you are not thinking anything of it.”

Derek, of Tranent, said Darcy had been sniffing at the side of the grass and he had kept walking.

He called for her and whistled but when she did not return he retraced his steps.

He made his way up the embankment and saw a row of stopped cars on the opposite side of the A1.

Derek said: “I saw her lying there when I got across there myself.

“She was lying totally wiped out and she would not have felt anything.

“The wee soul: it was just a tragic thing that happened.

“You sort of half blame yourself – if I had her on a lead – but you are walking along a country path.”

it is understood that the car that struck Darcy failed to stop.

Derek’s daughter Demi, who was head girl at Ross High School last year, launched an online petition calling for improvements to the fencing on either side of the underpass in a bid to stop history repeating itself.

Temporary fencing has been put on the embankment on the A1

Derek, 59, was proud of his daughter’s efforts and said: “She has been driving the petition and there have been close to 700 signatures to try to get this fixed or make it secure.

“If anything is coming out onto the road, it could cause a major pile-up, especially coming to the junction.

“My daughter has been fantastic driving this and I think it is helping her deal with the loss as well.

“I’m really proud of her for doing that.”

Councillor Colin McGinn, who represents the Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry ward, has already raised the issue with East Lothian Council.

He told the Courier he wanted the fencing at all underpasses along the A1, which passes through the heart of East Lothian, to be looked at to see if there were similar issues.

Mr McGinn, who has a springer spaniel called Gracie, said: “The council officers have been brilliant and recognise it is Bear Scotland’s responsibility.

“They are trying to engage with them to try to help move this along.”

Bear Scotland, which maintains and manages the A1, has also been approached to see what can be done.

A spokesman for the group said: “We inspect this section of the A1 twice weekly for safety issues, most recently on Monday, when we installed temporary fencing to close off gaps where the existing fencing has been damaged. We will return to the site at a later date to carry out a permanent repair.”

Sign the petition at change.org/p/east-lothian-council-fence-off-the-meadowmill-area-to-protect-animals-and-small-children