A HOTEL director has called for a 50mph speed limit to be extended to a stretch of road which has already seen several fatal accidents.

However, police are opposing the move, saying the change would not help resolve the situation.

Robin Smith, director of Ramside Hall Hotel, has witnessed the aftermath of several accidents on the A690 at the bottom of the hotel's driveway at Carrville, on the edge of Durham.

While motorists further along the road, at West Rainton, are governed by a 50mph speed limit, the limit is 70mph as it passes through Carrville.

The point where vehicles cross the dual carriageway to access the hotel and golf club has traditionally been an accident blackspot, with several people losing their lives in recent years.

They include 19-year-old student and former Durham schoolboy Michael Rivett, who worked part-time as a waiter at the hotel, and whose father, Frank, is a friend of Mr Smith.

Most recently, teacher Karen Toolan, 37, and Dorothy Daly, 70, from Liverpool, died when their people carrier was in collision with a car as they left the central reservation bound for the hotel.

Calling for the introduction of a 50mph speed limit, Mr Smith said: "Having been a witness to virtually all recent accidents, it would appear that the problems arise from vehicles crossing over the carriageway, and the only way to resolve this problem is to reduce the speed.

"Ideally, we'd like to see the whole A690 as a 50mph limit, with an active speed camera some 200 metres prior to our turn in.

"I'm not saying that reducing the speed limit is going to reduce the number of accidents, but there would be less chance of being killed."

A Durham County Council spokeswoman said the situation would be reviewed after the introduction of the park-and-ride scheme at Belmont.

A spokesman for Durham police said: "Although we are aware of local concerns regarding the A690, especially the part of the road by the Ramside Hotel, at present we do not support extending the 50mph limit.

"Investigations into the most recent serious or fatal collisions in that area have shown that speed was not the most significant factor involved."