Fresh safety calls after A49 deaths in Shropshire

Traffic is continuing to reach "extraordinary" speeds on sections of the A49 in south Shropshire and more needs to be done to enforce speed limits, according to Shropshire councillor Lee Chapman.

It comes after the deaths of 27-year-old sous chef Steve Jones and 64-year-old Ken Gwilliam on the stretch of the road between Craven Arms and Leebotwood.

While there is no suggestion either accident involved speeding, the speed of traffic on twisty sections of the road – the main route between Shrewsbury and the south Shropshire border – was nevertheless the biggest worry, Councillor Chapman said.

It comes after five people died in accidents on the road last year.

Councillor Chapman, who represents Church Stretton and Craven Arms, said the topic was regularly raised at meetings with both Highways England and West Mercia Police.

He said: "We have expressed concerns to Highways England. We will be pressing them again to review safety on the A49.

"We have concerns about both the speed at which people travel and enforcement of the speed limit which we think is an issue.

"I regularly see them (speed camera vans) sitting within the 30mph zone in Church Stretton, but I don't ever see them on the larger stretch outside the speed limit zone, which in theory should still be 60mph – and with which I think there is more of an issue."

He added: "I know I regularly get concerns about the section between Craven Arms and Onibury, where people do overtake and approach extraordinary speeds trying to do so."

Both Craven Arms Town Council and Wistanstow Parish Council have also expressed concerns at meetings.

Mr Jones, from Oswestry, died in hospital following serious injuries sustained when his motorcycle collided with a horse box near Wistanstow on August 14.

Mr Gwilliam was killed in an accident at Leebotwood when his pick-up truck collided with a lorry on the morning of July 25.