A POPULAR Bovingdon man died after his car crashed at an accident black spot on Sunday, prompting calls for speed restrictions to be introduced on the road.

Paul Minns, 30, from Bovingdon, was killed as a result of his injuries, after his car left the carriageway when he was travelling along Ley Hill Road, towards Ley Hill on Sunday evening.

Paul was the only person in the blue Volkswagon Golf Cabriolet, which left the carriageway when it approached the brow of a hill, stuck a verge and travelled back across the road into a ditch.

Station commander at Bovingdon fire station, Jamie Fyfe, was first on the scene with his crew.

They found Paul was unconscious. He had been thrown from the vehicle, which had gone up in flames.

Mr Fyfe said: "We dealt with the fire and tried to resuscitate Paul straight away, but sadly it was to no avail. It is such a sad loss. I knew of Paul and he was a popular lad, who played darts for a local pub team. A disaster like this affects the whole community.

"This isn't the first fatal accident on this stretch of road and there have also been many near misses."

Floral tributes and a Liverpool football club shirt have been laid at the scene, with tributes to Paul, who had been married for just over a year.

A statement from his family said: "Paul has been cruelly taken from us all in a tragic accident. The whole of the family and his friends are totally devastated. Dave, Carol, Richard, Lea, Allan, Debra, Richard, Alison and his many friends are full of grief. How Nicola, his wife of 13 and a half months, is feeling is beyond us all.

"Paul was a very special person, who endeared himself to everyone he met. He will be so sorely missed."

In 2004, David Hobbs, 18, and James Burgin, 16, were killed when they were involved in a car crash in Ley Hill Road. The driver of the car, Sam Bartlett, 22, was jailed earlier this year after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

For full story see today's printed version of the Watford Observer.