NEW speed limits have been imposed on the Parkway stretch of the Ledbury to Gloucester road following a series of accidents.

Traffic in now limited to driving at 40mph through Parkway and to 50mph on the approach to the area.

Gary Williams, senior traffic engineer at Herefordshire Council, said they are also planning to add some road markings later in the summer.

"The reason we've reduced the speed is a response to local people who have been calling for speed cuts but it does take a long time for these things to be put in place," said Mr Williams.

"This road has certainly got an accident history which is why we've reduced the speed. It's got a couple of very nasty bends although it's no worse than the Trumpet Crossroads or Newtown Cross."

But he added that the speed limits will only have an effect if drivers take notice of them.

"We seem to live in a culture where people don't obey speed limits but we do have very close contacts with the police and they certainly support the reduction in limits and do enforce them but they do have very limited resources," he said.

Sgt Bob Wilson, of Ledbury police, said anything that helps reduce speed has to be a good thing.

"It's a fast stretch of road, people are slowing to go into the garage and there are a number of dwellings there too, so it's got to be better," he said.

The last serious accident to take place there was on January 1 this year, when a Fiat Punto and a Skoda Felicia were involved in a collision

One passenger, an 80-year-old woman, sustained serious chest injuries and two other people suffered broken bones.

Last year, four accidents, one serious, were recorded along the Parkway stretch and in September 1998 a 72-year-old man died after a head-on collision.