PRESSURE will be put on Dudley Council to act fast and prevent further weekly accidents on a “dangerous” Gornal road.

A series of crashes and near misses at the junction of Church Street and Temple Street led worried Gornal resident Dianne Whittaker contacted Dudley MP Ian Austin to see what could be done.

Mrs Whittaker said at least one car a week smashes into the stone wall outside St Peter’s Church and was concerned about the safety of pedestrians using the footpath to walk into the village.

She said: “Cars come around the corner, mount the kerb and either hit the lampost or slide down and hit the wall. My husband Pete was walking up with the dog earlier this year and a lad came off his moped right in front of him, he could have hit him.

“It worries me and I’m a bit nervous now when I’m walking up here, especially when a big lorry comes as I have seen so many people hit the wall. I think we need some signage.”

Labour MP Mr Austin met with Mrs Whittaker at the accident black spot on Thursday July 25.

After seeing firsthand how cars negotiate the bend, he vowed to get something done.

He said: “I have seen speeding traffic here today and this road is dangerous. I think Mrs Whittaker is absolutely right, something needs to be done about this and I’d like to thank her for bringing it to my attention.”

Mr Austin said he would put pressure on the council, with support from Gornal councillors Dave Branwood and Stuart Turner to put warning signs on the road.

He continued: “I want flashing signs warning people to slow down. We will also get a petition up and running in the area and get local people to sign it.”

Mrs Whittaker welcomed the idea of a petition: “The more people that sign it the better. Lots of people will have seen cars hit the wall and want something done about it.”

Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for transportation said the road would be assessed to see if signage would be suitable.

He added: "An investigation will be carried out to determine the justification for including the bend at the junction of Church Street and Temple Street in a local safety scheme programme. This work will include an analysis of any accident records and unusual site characteristics and traffic surveys will also be carried out."