RELATIVES of a pedestrian killed on an unlit bypass are calling for urgent safety improvements after another man was seriously injured on the road.

The 51-year-old man was crossing the A688 near Low House Farm, at the western end of the Spennymoor bypass, on Saturday when he was struck by a Volvo car.

He was left with a broken pelvis and leg injuries and is now recovering at the University Hospital of North Durham, where his condition is said to be "very poorly".

News of the accident has prompted the family of Alan Russell, who died on the road five years ago, to renew their calls for the road to be lit and pedestrian crossings to be installed.

Mr Russell, 61, from Willow Road, Middlestone Moor, suffered fatal injuries when he was struck by a Ford Mondeo as he crossed to reach a recreation area to walk his dog, which also died in the accident.

His brother-in-law, Peter Gallagher, said Mr Russell's widow, Joanne, hired a solicitor shortly after her husband's death to try to force Durham County Council to make the road safer.

Mr Gallagher, from Norton, near Stockton, said: "There have been other accidents on that road, probably not resulting in anything serious. There have been a lot of complaints, but nobody seems to be doing anything about it."

A Durham County Council spokesman said there were no plans for improvements to the road, but the authority would be looking at the issue again in light of the recent accident.

Police say there have been no accidents on the stretch of road involving pedestrians since 1998, but there have been seven accidents involving cars in the last four years.

Spennymoor Town Council leader Bill Waters supported the call, saying that with three footpaths cutting across the road there should at least be lights installed.

He said: "You take your life in your hands going across there in the dark. It is a very fast road."