A PLEA has been made for speed reduction measures on a Darlington road blighted by crashes.

Lynn Holland has lived on the A167 Croft Road between Hurworth and Darlington since 1982 and says in that time she has witnessed countless crashes and cars coming off the carriageway near her house.

The 60mph stretch of road was recently the site of a collision that killed 59-year-old mum of two Christine Watson on Saturday evening.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances of that crash and excess speed has not been established as a factor, however Ms Holland says that action should have been taken long ago to make the road safer.

She said: “There are always accidents there, I have asked the police and the council if they would just put some chevrons along there.

“If people are driving too fast it isn’t going to help, but it would make people more aware.”

Ms Holland said that on the Friday night before Saturday’s fatal crash she saw another car come off the road and said it was happening so frequently now she has stopped rushing to the drivers’ aid.

“If nobody is hurt, the police aren’t called so nothing happens and the crash isn’t registered,” she said.

“But I hear them.

“It sounds awful but I am getting so complacent that when I hear a bang I think ‘I’m not going out there’.”

Ms Holland enquired about installing crash barriers herself outside her house but was told by police that she would be liable if someone crashed into them and died.

She said that the farmer who works the fields either side of the road no longer grazes cattle in them due to the frequency of cars crashing through the hedges.

“You only have to look at the number of holes in the hedges to see how often people go through them,” said Ms Holland.

“I used to have rockery at the front of my house but I was so sick of cars driving over it I stopped, it’s awful.”

“I have asked over the years for something to be done but they say there is nothing wrong with the road.”

Darlington Borough Council was asked by The Northern Echo whether its highways officers would consider re-visiting the site following the latest crash,

A council spokeswoman said: “We extend our condolences to the families and friends of those involved in this weekend’s incident.

“We will be working with the police as part of their ongoing investigation and are unable to comment further until the investigation is completed.”