A NEW plea for the notorious A64 York to Scarborough road to be made a dual carriageway has been made by Ryedale MP John Greenway.

It follows a spate of death crashes, the latest being earlier this month when a 50-year-old American tourist died when his car was involved in a collision with a lorry at Barton Hill, one of the worst blackspots on the 42-mile long road.

Mr Greenway said: "This road is highly dangerous. We need urgent action to improve it, and it is vital that we get the support at a regional level to persuade the Government and the Department of Transport of the importance of upgrading the road, which has claimed numerous lives in the past decade."

The stretch between Whitwell-on-the Hill and Golden Hill, Malton, has seen 12 death crashes.

Mr Greenway said a new report by the Highways Agency, published following a public consultation exercise among communities along the busy road earlier this year, did not tackle the real issues.

"Spending more money on this single carriageway road will be seen as a waste of money by residents and regular users," he said.

Mr Greenway added: "There are some big issues at several spots on the A64, which are vital if lives are to be saved and benefits accrued to the local economy through improved traffic flows."