POLITICIANS have joined forces to back the growing number of calls for dangerous gaps on the A19 to be closed.

Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton and Rishi Sunak, MP for Richmond, have jointly written to Highways England seeking swift action to close the gaps in the busy North-South trunk road where possible.

Their move follows an inquest into the death of Sonia Rose, 83, whose car was hit by a van which veered through a gap in the central reservation of the dual carriageway near Osmotherley and into the path of oncoming traffic.

During the inquest into her death at Northallerton last week, Coroner Michael Oakley expressed his concerns about the crossing points, in particular the two gaps between the Cleveland Tontine and Mount Grace Priory, where the fatal accident happened in September last year.

The driver of a van had swerved from the southbound carriageway into the path of northbound traffic and into the path of Mrs Rose’s car. The driver has since been diagnosed as suffering sleep apnoea and had no recollection of the lead up to the collision.

Sonia Rose, a former teacher at Fulford School in York, had been heading to a walking group in Great Ayton from her home near Thirsk. Her family are calling for urgent safety measures to be introduced on the road.

Coroner Mr Oakley is also writing to the government, drawing attention to the dangers of the crash barrier and crossing points, citing his experiences over many years dealing with deaths on the A19.

Mr Sunak and Mr Hollinrake said they would add their voices to Mr Oakley's, asking that Highways England gives urgent consideration to the issue.

Mr Hollinrake said: “This is a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened.

“Mrs Rose lived in Carlton Miniott near Thirsk. My heart goes out to her family who are also from the constituency.

"I fully support any measures which will prevent this type of accident in the future.

“The A19 is a busy road and we should do everything we can to make sure that gaps in the central reservation are closed so that drivers can use it without fear of this kind of totally unforeseeable accident."

Mr Sunak said: "The gap in the central reservation was a major contributory cause of the accident and the terrible loss of Mrs Rose.

"While it would be difficult to close all the gaps, where there are relatively easy alternative access routes to lanes and properties alongside the road we should do so. That is certainly the case at Mount Grace."

Mr Sunak, who lives just two miles from the A19, said: "I am very familiar with the risks associated with the crossings. I use one to get to my home all the time.

"Some are clearly more dangerous than others and I support Mr Oakley's comments about the crossing points and gaps between Osmotherley and the Cleveland Tontine 100 per cent."

The two MPs also backed Mr Oakley's suggestion that the carriageway barrier ends, which were also a contributory factor in the accident by guiding the out-of-control van into the oncoming traffic, be updated to a safer, more modern, version.

Last week Highways England said in a statement: “We put safety at the heart of everything we do and any death on our roads is one too many. We will carefully review the coroner’s comments to consider what actions we can take to continue to improve safety on our network.”