A MAN who spent 25 years training people to avoid being seen is now spearheading a campaign to get them to "wear white at night."

When PC Tom Iddon was in the Armed Forces he was an expert at camouflage but now as Evesham rural beat manager he wants people to stand out in the dark.

"You cannot wind back time," said Tom, who has seen more dead bodies than he cares to remember during 19 years in the police force.

The tragedy is that he believes that taking simple steps that cost next to nothing in time and effort might have prevented many of them.

"There is nothing simpler than slipping on a high visibility arm band but it can make the difference between life and death."

Tom is hoping to get support from local authority safety chiefs to make people in rural areas aware of the dangers of walking in the road at night.

A recent incident where a mother was killed after being struck by a car in a country lane has sparked his initiative.

"The problem is that pedestrians do not understand how hard it can be for motorists to see them at night.

"Winter clothes are always dark and there is a fashion for people to wear camouflage jackets that are designed not to be seen.

"In the country, footpaths are often narrow or don't exist."

PC Iddon said: "A reflecting arm band can be slipped in the pocket but worn when it's dark. Carrying a torch helps and walking towards the direction of oncoming traffic is very important.

"Walk towards traffic and you can see what the driver is doing and get out of the way."

The days are getting longer but PC Iddon warns that the problem is not confined to winter.

"In the middle of the summer people walk home from pubs when it is getting dark and with 24 hour opening they will be walking home in the early hours when its dark even in June."

Many years ago in Scotland, PC Iddon lost a friend who was killed after being hit by a car while making his way home.

"He was in dark clothes, walking with his back to the traffic and had been drinking - everything was wrong.

"It could so easily have been avoided but you cannot wind back time. That's something this job has taught me."

The beat officer, with special responsibility for a number of villages and rural areas, believes that just after twilight is especially dangerous: "Drivers have not adjusted to the dark properly. It is also particularly dangerous when two cars meet on a country road and drivers are distracted by headlamps coming towards them."

Road safety watchdog, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said most pedestrian deaths occurred in built up areas but people were more likely to be killed in an accident in the countryside.

"Cars are going faster and outside villages they can be travelling at 60mph. Drivers do not expect people to be walking in a country lane and roads and footpaths are narrow," said Linda Morrison Allsopp, road safety project manager for ROSPA.

"Country roads are often narrow and windy which further reduces visibility."

For PC Tom Iddon one life lost is a death too many.

"Every death is a tragedy for someone. It's not just the person killed but the wife, husband, sister, brother, mother, father and lover that is left behind who suffers."

PC Iddon says take his word for it - he has seen too much death and it does not get any easier.