Calls have been made for more safety measures on ‘accident hotspot’ Four Elms Hill.

Newton Poppleford and Harpford representative Val Ranger is urging the county council and police to take action by investing in double white lines and reducing the speed limit.

She has spoken out following a fatal collision on the road last Friday. The cause and circumstances of the accident are still being investigated.

Speaking of the general conditions drivers face on the road, Cllr Ranger, a Harpford resident, said she wrote to Devon County Council (DCC) two years ago about her concerns of overhanging trees, uneven drains and speed limits, but feels they were not taken seriously.

The district councillor told the Herald: “The 60mph limit is in place until entering the village [Newton Poppleford] at the bottom of the hill, where it drops to 30mph, just as drivers are negotiating a dark road and bends.

“I would like to see double white [no overtaking] lines up the entire length of Four Elms Hill, a continuation of the 40mph limit from The Bowd straight down the entire hill, overhanging trees on the south side cut right back so there is light on the road, the intermittent kerbs made highly visible so drivers and cyclists do not accidentally clip them, and the uneven drains made safe.

“The cost of these measures would be offset against the cost of managing the number of accidents and accompanying road closures we currently face.”

Councillor Ranger has also sent Freedom of Information requests to the police and DCC requesting information about the number of accidents since May 2015, as well as the intervention level needed before action is taken.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, DCC’s cabinet member for highways, said: “As a regular user of the A3052, I believe that some stretches of that road could be improved with the introduction of double white lines. In regards to the specific circumstances surrounding the tragic fatal incident on Four Elms Hill, DCC is investigating and we are also awaiting the outcomes of the police’s own investigation and the subsequent coroner’s inquest.”