Two stretches of road along the A367, connecting Bath with Radstock, that have become accident blackspots in recent years, have seen some major changes made in the hope it will reduce the number of vehicle collisions.

A campaign led by Peasedown St John’s Independent Councillors since 2015 has pushed for all overhanging trees and hedges to be removed as part of a B&NES Council road safety initiative. Cllr Walker said: “There have been a large number of accidents at the bottom of Dunkerton Hill, and along the Peasedown St John bypass. Many of these have been caused by poor visibility, particularly approaching bends in the road.

“The huge bend at the bottom of Dunkerton has led to vehicle collisions, broken bones and even fatalities. This had led to Sarah and I pushing for changes with a strong desire to see visibility improvements.”

Throughout 2017, the Councillors met regularly with B&NES Council’s Traffic and Safety Department to assess where accidents were taking place, and they also lobbied the Council Leadership for the funds to be made available to make these major cutbacks to trees and roadside overgrowth.

Cllr Bevan added: “Karen and I persuaded the council to include the A367 stretch of road from Dunkerton through to Westfield on their district-wide road safety plan. This meant that a sizeable proportion of the available budget was spent on Peasedown’s bypass safety measures.

“Both Dunkerton, and the A367 around Peasedown St John, are looking much better and the sides of the roads are clear of overgrowth.”