QUICK fixes must be found to improve road safety on the A69 and avoid further tragedies, campaigners have warned.

A newly-formed action group says there is no time to wait for the road to become dual carriageway.

The Bardon Mill and Henshaw Action Group has backed MP Guy Opperman’s high profile campaign for the trunk road to be dualled between Hexham and Carlisle.

But speaking at a meeting of Henshaw Parish Council on Monday, group spokesman Martin Gaughan said more immediate solutions must be found in the meantime.

The group is set to launch a petition calling for a speed reduction from 60mph to 40mph, between Bardon Mill and Melkridge, following a double fatal accident on September 3.

The petition will also call for average speed cameras to be installed along the stretch.

Mr Gaughan said: “We’ve had well publicised deaths on the A69, but the Government must realise that there are near misses out there every day.

“It’s only a matter of time before more lives are lost unless something major is done about that road.

“I know there are hopes that the road will be dualled, but we cannot simply wait for that. We need to see changes now.”

Last month, Mr Opperman said he was confident that the cameras would be in place by April of next year.