Campaigners are calling for a clamp down on lorries, after three people were killed in HGV accidents within 12 months.

The Safer Lorries campaign is the brainchild of eight organisations who want stricter measures imposed on lorries carrying out council contracts.

It comes after a 90-year-old man was decapitated by a lorry in Tooting, while a man was killed in Putney High Street after falling under a lorry in November.

Another pedestrian was killed in Balham this year after being struck by a HGV in Balham Station Road.

The letter calling for the measures was handed to Councillor Russell King, cabinet member for transport, on Wednesday by members of Wandsworth Environment Forum (WEF).

It is hoped businesses wishing to tender for contracts would make sure their lorries meet a certain criteria, such as installing a safety device and undergoing training for busy traffic.

Last year TfL updated it's rules on lorry specifications, with the campaign asking the council to do the same.

Jon Irwin, of WEF, said: "The detail of the ask is getting the council to change their procurement procedures.

"In Wandsworth we have seen three elderly people who have been killed in collisions in the past year,

"We can't bring back the people that have been killed but we can ask our Local Authority to require businesses that provide services to have their own safety devices."

A spokesman for the council said: "The council already takes action to promote the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, including running training workshops for freight drivers in Wandsworth to ensure they are compliant with existing safety standards and organising events to help drivers and other road users understand the importance of being aware of each other.

"The issue is also addressed in our cycle training programmes for adults and children.

"We are currently reviewing road safety statistics in the borough and in the light of that evidence we will consider whether the measures suggested by the Wandsworth Cycling Campaign are justified."

Members of Age UK Wandsworth, Wandsworth Cycling Campaign, Friends of the Earth and Wandsworth Living Streets are backing the campaign.

The Putney Society, Wandsworth Older People's Forum, Transition Town Tooting and the Wandsworth Society also signed the letter.

Earlier this year the Putney Society suggested the council impose restrictions on HGV deliveries in a bid to clear up air pollution in the borough.