A SCHEME to cut the number of road accidents at Redditch's Rough Hill Drive traffic island - the county's second worst accident blackspot- is to be implemented this summer.

And Worcestershire County Council has vowed it will not make the same mistakes it did in 2003 when work on 'Sainsbury's island' on the northern tip of the town caused traffic chaos.

Between March 2002 and March this year, there were 31 accidents, excluding minor bumps, recorded at the Rough Hill Drive island, resulting in 39 injuries to motorists and their passengers, three of which were serious.

A county spokesman said the accidents had cost about £300,000 in repairs and wasted time but the improvements would cost £100,000, saving the council money in the long-run.

The scheme will see spiral road markings and arrows to improve drivers' positioning and new signs to help drivers on to the correct path.

A high-friction surface on the main approaches will also help with braking and a new 40mph speed limit will be imposed around the traffic island, including 150 metres of the A441 Alvechurch Highway.

The work will be carried out during the school summer holidays.

The county council admitted it made mistakes when improving Sainsbury's island.

County council senior engineer highway safety Dave Clee said: "We did get it wrong and we didn't handle the Sainsbury's island situation very well. We didn't really inform the public of what we were planning to do - that will not be the case this time."