Councillor on speeding on crash hotspot in Worcester

Worcestershire County Councillor Lynn Denham has said she is shocked after hearing about two more "serious incidents" on Astwood Road in just under a week.

The number of crashes has led residents to call for action as they fear someone could die if something is not done to reduce speeds.

Worcestershire County Councillor Lynn Denham pictured on the stretch of road. (Image: Lynn Denham) Cllr Denham said in the past, she had organised a speed survey to take place on the road, but its outcome led to Worcestershire County Council Highways Department refusing to consider any speed reduction measures.

She said: "I am shocked to hear that two serious accidents have occurred in such a short time. 

"Residents have been concerned about cars speeding on this stretch of road for some time.

"I organised for a speed survey last year.

AFTERMATH: One car had hit a neighbours wall last Friday (August 16). (Image: Newsquest) "This showed that, on average, vehicles were travelling just above 20mph.

"On that basis, the county council Highways Department refused to consider any speed reduction measures.

"However, the details in the survey tell a different story.

"For many parts of the day, traffic is moving very slowly due to traffic jams.

"At other times, too many vehicles are exceeding the 30mph speed limit."

A mini was on its roof on the road on January 1, 2023. (Image: Sami Heath) Several crashes have been reported between Green Lane and the Chequers Pub in the past three years, and nearly 500 vehicles broke the speed limit on the same stretch in just five days in 2023.

The figures released by Worcestershire County Council show that 487 vehicles broke the road's 30mph limit between June 6 and June 10, 2023.

Twenty-six of those cars were going over 40 miles per hour.

This is out of 19,704 cars that passed northbound and southbound on the road during the five days.

In the last week, two crashes happened between Green Lane and the Chequers Pub.

Another car crash happened on Monday (August 19). (Image: Sami Heath) One of these was on Friday, August 16, when a car crashed into a resident's garden wall, and the other on Monday, August 19. 

It has not been confirmed if the crashes were caused by speeding.

Matt Reynolds, a concerned resident, said: "Imagine if this was school time, and children were walking along that road, and the car went into them and the wall?

"It’s only a matter of time until there is a fatality on the stretch of road."

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said it acknowledges the concerns residents and Lynn Denham raised. 

"In response, we will continue to work closely with our colleagues at West Mercia police to carry out detailed monitoring and analysis of the accidents that are occurring at this location," it added.

"Following this, if there are any highway measures that could mitigate the situation, they will be placed in our programme for casualty reduction.”