A TEENAGER died and two people were injured in a crash at an accident blackspot near Ledbury.

Seventeen-year-old Emma Hole, from Hartpury, died at the scene after her Citroen Saxo was in collision with a Renault Clio on the A417 at Parkway.

The two occupants of the Clio were treated at the scene and taken to hospital by ambulance. The driver was suffering from whiplash and the passenger had a broken wrist.

The accident happened at about 5.40pm on Saturday. Police, fire and ambulance crews attended the scene and diversions were in place for five hours.

An inquest into Miss Hole's death was opened and adjourned by the Herefordshire coroner on Tuesday.

An extensive programme of road safety measures have been carried out at Parkway after previous fatalities. The speed limit was reduced to 40mph in 2000, following a series of accidents, including the death of a 72-year-old man in 1998.

A three-month programme of resurfacing took place in 2001 and more prominent signs were installed.

In September this year, the Safety Camera Partnership reported that mobile speed cameras had reduced the number of speeding motorists.

But Claire Taylor, a senior forecourt assistant at the nearby Parkway Prestige garage, said the situation had not changed.

"I know that people ignore the 40mph speed limit. They come off the motorway and just keep going," she said.

"It's a dangerous stretch of road and there have been a few accidents outside this garage. They come over the hill too fast."

She said a sign indicating Parkway as a village may help.

"Not a lot of people notice Parkway is a village. Maybe if there was a sign it would make a difference."