Partner of pregnant Hollyoaks actress killed by Lancashire driver launches charity to crack down on boy racers

A year after an Accrington man killed a pregnant mum after filming himself driving at 123mph, his victim’s family have launched a new road safety campaign for children.

Abdul Iqbal, 22, of Hope Street, Accrington, filmed himself driving his dad’s BMW at speeds of up to 123mph as he weaved between traffic on the M66 in Bury, Greater Manchester, last May, before losing control and ploughing into Frankie Jules-Hough’s Skoda Fabia.

The 38-year-old former Hollyoaks actress, had pulled over on the hard shoulder with a flat tyre. She - along with her unborn daugher Neeve - died two days later in hospital. Frankie's son and nephew, who were also inside the car during impact, suffered serious injuries. Her then nine-year-old son Tommy was left in a coma for 10 days, while her nephew Tobias was in a coma for 17 days.

Iqbal was initially jailed for 12 years, however this was increased to 15 years by three appeal judges who concluded the original sentence was unduly lenient. 

Going into schools Now Frankie’s grieving partner and her father have launched a new charity in a bid to keep her and her baby’s memories alive, and to prevent future tragedies. Marking a year after the tragic events, they have launched the Frankie and Neeve’s Road Safety Academy. They will be going into schools to speak to children about road safety and respect and to discourage them from using their phones while behind the wheel.

This is how you can support the work of Frankie and Neeve’s Road Safety Academy

Online, they state their mission is “To change attitudes of current unsafe motorists and to instill a more respectful and safe approach towards road safety in the drivers of the future. We will achieve this through early years learning on road safety with inputs at years 1-6, and 11.”

“I lost my chance to become a father”

Speaking to the BBC, Frankie’s former partner Calvin Buckley said: "When you take your eyes off the road anything could happen.

"Two people lost their lives as a result of someone using their phone while driving, and to put it simply my life was destroyed. I lost my partner and the chance to become a father."

Last week Mr Buckley also backed the 'Touch. Screen' campaign, from Safer Roads Greater Manchester, which aims to eliminate all deaths and life-changing injuries on Greater Manchester's roads by 2040. Videos released as part of the campaign show three drivers using their mobile phones behind the wheel and becoming increasingly distracted as they take calls, respond to texts, change songs or check directions.

As they continue to take their eyes off the road and focusing on touching their phone, they are too slow to react to what happens next and the scene abruptly ends with a loud crash.