RESIDENTS of a Worcestershire village who logged 35 accidents in less than four years at a notorious blackspot have finally won their battle for traffic-calming measures.

Worcestershire County Council has decided to install speed-activated warning signs on the A443 at Abberley after decades of campaigning by homeowners and the parish council.

They say the main problem is drivers ignoring the 30mph speed limit through the village or misjudging the sharp bend at the junction with the Common. Roy Winwood, aged 61 who owns one of the cottages on the bend, has logged 35 accidents along that stretch of road in less than four years.

He said: “They are proposing to put in vehicle-activated signs. It shows a profile of the bend when vehicles are doing more than 30 mph. It is the latest type of vehicle-activated sign. In Wiltshire, they are very successful. An officer at Wiltshire County Council said most people slow down when they see the sign light up. He said it works. The bend at Abberley has been an accident blackspot all my life. This is excellent news. It is the most brilliant news for Abberley. I am very happy – I could not be happier.”

Richard Goodman, chairman of Abberley Parish Council, said: “We have been trying for years to get something done.

“I pulled a young couple in a car out of the hedge this morning. There have been some nasty bumps over the years but we have not had the fatalities that trigger all the buttons. It is a difficult bit of road.”

Worcestershire County Council highways manager Jon Fraser said two flashing signs would warn people.

“We have a site meeting next week with the manufacturer Westcotec, which is the market leader in these things,” he said.

“It is to see whether the signs are suitable for solar power or whether we need to cable it to an electricity supply. The signs are speed-activated.

“Once we have the site meeting we can order the signs, which will take six weeks to come and then we can install them. It is definitely going ahead.”