A LOCAL road notorious for its accidents has been named as the most dangerous in the whole of the East of England.

The A113, which stretches from East London to Ongar, has been labelled as among the worst in the country by a new report issued by the Road Safety Foundation.

According to its figures, there were 21 fatal or serious road accidents between 2006 and 2008, a 24 per cent rise on the previous three-year-period.

Rob Bell, 34, who lives on the A113, in London Road, Stanford Rivers, said: “I can certainly believe these statistics. We're leaving our windows open at the moment because of the heat and at 5am you get cars going through that must be doing 80mph. I'm absolutely repulsed by it.

“When you're driving at 30mph in the village they speed past and over take you. Recently one car span off the road and demolished the bus shelter.

“What needs to happen is they should put solid white lines throughout the village so you can't overtake. Then they need proper roundabouts not painted ones. Everyone says the same thing. I've been banging on about it for ten years.”

The most recent fatality on the road was that of Steven Rodway, 38, from Brentwood, who was cycling near the Passingford Bridge roundabout when he was involved in a collision with a silver Ford Puma.

Last year, Maureen Moulton, 72, of Greensted Road, in Loughton, and Denroy Dixon, 45, from Harlow were both declared dead at the scene when a motorcycle hit a Mitsubishi Pajero in London Road.

Stephen Lawley, 52, of Stanford Rivers Road, Ongar, lost his son Adam, 21, when he died after crashing on a bend in London Road, in November 2008.

He said: “We knew where Adam died there had previously been lots of accidents just at his spot.

“We live on that road , and if you ask anyone who lives here they'll say it's a very fast road and very dangerous. Of course someone should look into this and the overall problem. There are lots of accidents every year.”

A spokesman for Essex County Council said: “We are aware of the issues on the A113, and have previously taken steps to improve safety, however this is a very busy stretch of road and we recognise that further improvements are required.

"We have recently carried out a route study on the road, and have identified a number of significant road safety measures that we intend to implement during the current financial year.

"Road Safety is a priority of Essex County Council and as a result of working with partners on the Essex Casualty Reduction Board the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads has been reduced by over 30% in the past three years.”