Shropshire's A529: Find out why it has been named one of the country's most dangerous roads

Data shows there were 77 reported collisions and 119 people were injured on the A529, between Hinstock and Audlem.

It comes as Shropshire Council has confirmed it is making a £3.8 million bid to make the road safer.

The road, which has been notorious for several serious accidents in recent years, has been recognised as one of the 50 roads with the worst safety record in Britain.

Figures in the council's funding application form show there were five fatal collisions, 12 serious and 60 slight on the road between January 1 2012 and July 31 this year.

As well as the fatalities, 16 people suffered serious injuries and 98 suffered slight injuries in the period.

The application form states: The 2016 EuroRAP Risk Ratings Report highlighted that single carriageway A roads in the West Midlands region have the lowest risk of death and serious injury in mainland UK. The A529 between Hinstock and Audlem bucked this trend and was highlighted as one of 50 A road sections in mainland UK with the highest risk of fatal or serious collisions.

"The benefit of this scheme will be to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured along this section of the A529 by building in a higher level of safety for all road users, thereby proactively addressing and reducing the known risks that can result in serious or fatal injuries along the route as a whole.

"Reducing the number and severity of collisions improves route resilience thereby reducing delays experienced by the travelling public.

"Costs borne by the council for infrastructure repairs arising as a consequence of the collisions will also be reduced, as will the costs borne by the emergency services and hospitals when responding to and dealing with casualties from the collisions."

Shropshire Council said improvement work would be phased over a two to three year period on a 12-mile stretch of the road. Last year, a 23-year-old man died when the car he was a passenger in left the A529 and went down an embankment.

In 2015, a 80-year-old woman died following a two-vehicle crash on the A529 at the Sweet Appletree crossroads, near Hinstock.

Hinstock Parish Council described the stretch of road near the village as an “accident blackspot” and said it was hoping to put forward recommendations to Shropshire Council to make it safer.

Councillor Matt Erwin, mayor of Market Drayton, has welcomed Shropshire Council’s funding bid and believes it will be money well spent.