Speed call on danger road

In the accident on the A41 Wergs Road in Tettenhall, which has a 40mph limit, the driver lost control in Sunday's heavy rain near Cranmere Court.

The road layout, nicknamed Brands Hatch by locals, has been changed to remove the short stretch of dual carriageway following scores of collisions, including one that killed a 19-year-old soldier.

But residents living near the scene of the weekend's smash said today the measures do not go far enough and repeated controversial calls for the speed limit to be cut.

One, father-of-two Steven Mills of Cranmere Court, witnessed the crash and said it was lucky that no-one was seriously injured.

The 36-year-old said: "We are always hearing the squeaking of tyres and see cars mounting the pavement. We have heard at least 20 near misses in the last year."

In March 2005 Mr Mills handed in a petition to the council asking for the speed limit to be reduced. But no action was taken after 62 per cent of commuters objected following a public consultation.

Mr Mills said he was worried for the safety of his children and visitors who had to cross the road to get to his estate after getting off the bus.

He said: "The road layout is appalling. The only way of ensuring that the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities is reduced on this stretch of road is to enforce a lower speed limit."

Ward councillor Jonathan Yardley said the road had been improved in the last six months.

He said: "We used to have an accident on that stretch virtually every month.

"We got the layout changed so that there was no longer a short stretch of dual carriageway. This is the first incident of note since the system changed."