A DETERMINED campaign by a Falmouth mother for a change in the law to allow doctors to take blood samples from unconscious or incapacitated drivers resulted in victory this week.

On Tuesday the Government anounced that such drivers who had been involved in an accident would have a blood sample taken without their consent - closing a legal loophole.

The news is a victory for Mary Kettle (pictured above) who has fought for a change in the law since her 33-year-old daughter Sarah was killed in a car smash in Penryn in November, 1999. Mrs Kettle, who runs the Four Winds Pub in Falmouth where Sarah, 33, lived at the time, says she is delighted with the change which will be a lasting legacy to her daughter.

"Naturally I am highly delighted as we went through such a dark area of the law," she said. "Having lost Sarah we had no meaningful justice from the courts. If somebody kills somebody else by whatever means they should not be able to walk away from it. They should be made accountable."

She said after her daughter's death she was so angry she had to channel her anger in a positive way, enlisting the help of MP Candy Atherton and meeting government ministers and officials as well as receiving the support of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

"I do think it's a great achievement, it is a testament to Sarah," said Mrs Kettle. "Other people have tried to do it but got so far and got frustrated, but I kept on plugging away."

Mrs Kettle says the death of her daughter filled her with despair and she has found it difficult to cope.

"We had such a wonderful relationship," she said "there was such love between us. She was such a caring girl.

"You don't cope you just carry on. My heart is very heavy and always will be. There is a void in our family.

"I can never replace Sarah but at least she has not died in vain and other mothers and families will not have to go through what we went through in our search for justice."

The other driver involved in the crash, Gary Lee Rowe, from Redruth, was suspected of drink driving but police were unable to obtain a sample of blood without his permission. He was unconscious at the time.

It was later proved his high performance Ford Escort Turbo had been on the wrong side of the road travelling at 64 mph in a 30mph zone when he hit Sarah's Ford Fiesta. Her car had been travelling at 22 mph in the opposite direction when the accident happened near Trelawny Park.

During his court appearance on charges of careless driving Rowe admitted he had been drinking in a nearby pub before the crash but could not remember how much he had consumed.

He was eventually fined £250 by magistrates and banned from driving for two years, a sentence Mrs Kettle condemned at the time. From then on she vowed to get the law changed.

At an inquest in June 2000, West Cornwall coroner Edward Carlyon recorded an open verdict on Sarah Kettle saying he believed alcohol had played a part in the accident.

Falmouth and Camborne MP Candy Atherton, who supported Mrs Kettle in her campaign, welcomed the announcement.

"I pay tribute to Mary Kettle herself for her dignified quest for justice and I am very pleased this long campaign has come to a successful conclusion."

She added: "Mary made a powerful case to ministers on behalf of many families who have faced such tragedies. Ending this loophole was vital for the victims but it also means the innocent can clear their name in the future. It simply allows the police to collect the evidence they need for investigations."