WYRE Forest is to share in a near £8 million Government cash handout aimed at improving road safety, travelling and public transport.

The cash is part of a £1.5 billion national settlement for 2002/2003 under which the county council will get £7.4 million towards maintenance and £4.3 million towards implementing transport plans.

Some of the money will be used to fund proposals which emerge from the traffic study currently being carried out in Stourport.

Cash will also fund a study into introducing a global positioning system in Worcestershire which would use satellite tracking to provide information on where buses are along a given route.

John Seddon, the county's transportation and road safety manager, said he was pleased to note the authority was getting just over £300,000 more than it thought it would be allocated for the year ahead. He added detailed expenditure proposals had not yet been drawn up.