The son-in-law of a woman who died in an ambulance by the side of the motorway has vowed to help drive improvement at a struggling NHS trust.

Nick Fulcher's mother-in-law Peggy Copeman died in a layby on the M11 while being carried back to Norfolk in 2019 having been sent to Taunton in Somerset for mental health care. She was 81.

Eastern Daily Press: Peggy Copeman died on the side of the road of the M11 while being transported back to Norwich from Devon. A family photograph from her 80th birthday in September 2018. Picture: Fulcher family

The tragic ordeal led to Mr Fulcher becoming one of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust's fiercest critics and a staunch campaigner for mental health improvements.

However, the North Lopham father has now vowed to work alongside the trust after being elected to its board of governors - as one of a number of new additions to the board.

He said: "What happened to our dear Peggy still haunts me and I don't want anybody else to have to go through the same thing.

"However, a lot of the time when people say this, they won't always go on to try and make sure it doesn't - so that is why I put myself forward.

"They say if you can't beat them, join them."

Mr Fulcher said that in recent months he had already seen changes being made at the struggling trust - and that he wanted to help this continue.

He said: "I have had a really hard time with the trust in the past, but to be quite honest I've been quite impressed with some of the changes being made.

"It feels like the trust is getting people in who really want to be there and they are really trying to address the cultural problems they've had in the past.

"I am doing this so dear Peggy's legacy can live on."

Eastern Daily Press: Zoe Billingham, chair of NSFT

NSFT chairman Zoe Billingham said: "I look forward to welcoming and working with new members and thank our former governors for all the time and effort they have dedicated to supporting NSFT over their tenures.

"Our governors play a crucial and respected role in our trust and their valuable contributions are more important than ever as we continue to work to deliver improvements to services across Norfolk and Suffolk."

Howard Tidman, lead governor, added: "I am really looking forward to working with all our governors, whose input adds so much to our work offering specialist mental health services."