CONCERNED villagers have demanded action to improve a “hazardous and scary” Bromsgrove A-road after a man tragically died in a car crash.

Residents on Top Road, Wildmoor, feel they are taking their life into their own hands whenever they pull onto the busy adjoining A491 Sandy Lane.

A pensioner in his 80s sadly died on the road on May 1, when his Vauxhall Astra was travelling from the direction of the M5 junction 4 and collided with a HGV.

The incident took place at 10.15pm and campaigners believe no lighting between junction 4 and the Stourbridge Road island makes it dangerous to drive on at night.

Kay Fieldhouse, 65, of Top Road, said: “The road is a nightmare. You take your life into your own hands.

“It is like a continuation of the motorway. People come from the junction and they still think they are on the motorway.

“They come down at such a foul speed and at night time it’s even worse, and with the lorries which flick up dirt. The road is called Sandy Lane which says it all.

“I have lived her for 65 years. It used to be such a quiet little lane but now it is awful.

“We used to run a farm shop and butchery but we closed it last August as it was quite hazardous and scary for people coming.”

David Turner, 77, who drives on the road to visit his daughter in Fairfield, also wants to see steps taken to clear dirt and sand.

He said: “It is a dangerous road to drive at night, with lots of traffic, no lighting and kerbsides that cannot be seen due to sand and dirt deposited by the lorries.

“The road is often completely obliterated by all the dirt from the sand pit and lorries.

“The lighting is abysmal. Coming from the bright lights around Junction 4 and then into the dark is not good for driving.

“Unless you drive on full beam in the dark, which is impossible with cars approaching from the other direction, it is an extremely dangerous road to drive on.

“The road lights are excellent in Hagley and Fairfield and again as you come back into Bromsgrove, but on that stretch of road there is no lighting at all.

“It seems to me that it is a stretch of road that is completely ignored by Highways.

"Modern standards of lighting should be installed, road markings should be updated and curbs highlighted."

But Jon Fraser, head of highways at Worcestershire County Council, has already rebuffed their calls, saying the lack of street lighting was not a factor in the collision.

He added: “There are no plans for any street lighting along this particular road.”

West Mercia Police had issued an appeal for witnesses to the crash, but a spokesman now added: “Police have now concluded their investigation and are satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances.

“The West Midlands coroner was happy with the medical cause and therefore no further police investigation was required.”