HUNDREDS of people backed a mum, whose teenage son was killed in a motorbike accident, in her fight for better roads.

Callum Hughes, 16, hit a pothole in Bayley Street, Stalybridge, and lost control of his moped, sliding into the path of an oncoming lorry. He was killed instantly.

His mum Roseanne Kay, of Forester Drive, Stalybridge, protested outside Ashton town hall on Saturday on the second anniversary of his death.

More than 500 people signed her petition, calling for drastic improvements on the borough's highways and byways.

She said: "At times they were queuing up to sign it. Everyone was sympathetic and agreed the roads are in a poor state of repair.

"A considerable number of people commented on the state of the manhole cover Callum hit and how long it had been in that condition."

Callum, a talented student, was riding the scooter to college for the first time, having bought L-plates the night before. Just hours after the smash in December 2003, workmen were pictured repairing the section of road where the crash occurred.

An investigation last week revealed another manhole had sunken dangerously on the same stretch. Measurements taken by the Advertiser showed it was below the highway department's own 50mm trigger mark for repair. Tameside Council insisted an inspection had been carried out in August and no repairs at that spot were needed.

But Roseanne claimed she had been monitoring it for two years and it had been "missed".

Engineers have since repaired the manhole in question.