PLEAS have been made for a full review of the safety of the A429 Fosse Way after two men were killed in a four vehicle crash.

An Audi Q7 and a Vauxhall Astra were travelling through Fossebridge towards Cirencester on Thursday at 1am when the Vauxhall collided with a lorry coming in the opposite direction.

The Audi driver lost control and skidded into a ditch, with the crash killing a 25-year-old man in the passenger seat.

The 38-year-old man driving the Vauxhall also died.

Paramedics based at Cirencester Hospital went to the Fosse Way accident but the men were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Audi was taken by air ambulance to Great Western Hospital in Swindon. His injuries are described as serious but not life threatening.

Police have yet to name the men who died but their next of kin have been informed.

The driver of the lorry was not injured in the crash. A goods vehicle was also involved, but not damaged.

Following the tragedy, two Gloucestershire county councillors have called for an urgent review of road safety on the A429.

At Tuesday’s environment scrutiny committee meeting, Cllr Paul Hodgkinson called for a task group to be assembled to “get to grip with issues along the road”.

Cllr Hodgkinson, who represents Bourton and Northleach, told the Standard: “The issue for us locally is that the Cotswolds continues to have the worst accident record in Gloucestershire.

“There were still 10 deaths in the district last year – that is 10 too many, with the impact that has on families and friends of those who lost their lives. Now we have been blighted by a further two on the Fosse Way.

“I get repeated concerns from residents about the state of the road and its dangers. It’s now time to act. This road wasn’t built for a massive increase in traffic – the whole thing needs looking at.”

Cllr Hodgkinson, who also chairs the group North Cotswolds Rural area Against Speeding Harm (NoCrash), has submitted a ‘councillor call for action’ which requires the county council to consider how it will tackle the problem.

The fatal crash came just days after the Standard revealed the Cotswolds to be the most dangerous district in Gloucestershire for driving.

In 2014 there were 253 casualties in the Cotswolds caused by road accidents, compared to 159 in Cheltenham and 200 in Gloucester

Nigel Moor, county councillor for Stow-on-the-Wold, has written to the chairman of the environment scrutiny committee to ask for an investigation of the safety of the A429.

“The Fosse Way is a key Cotswold artery,” he said.

“It is vital that it is safe, and as free from congestion as possible.

“The recent fatal crash has caused many of my constituents to have serious concerns about its safety – and these must be investigated fully.

“A scrutiny investigation into the issue would see that happen openly and transparently.

“I will be seeking support from other local councillors for a full examination.”

The Standard has reported on a number of fatal accidents in the last few months, including a Polish man who was hit by a van on the A429 in the early hours of the morning in May and a motorcyclist called Jason Baker who died in a crash on the A40 near Northleach in April.

On February 6, Mel Norman, a 22-year-old Northleach woman, was killed near Farmington on the A429 after her red Peugeot 106 left the road and hit a tree.

Traffic collisions in the Cotswolds have been falling year on year, and across Gloucestershire fatal casualties have reduced from 33 deaths in 2012, to 29 in 2014.