THE Standard is this week backing a campaign demanding reduced speed limits to a Wiltshire road that has been described as an accident black spot and claimed the lives of several drivers in recent years.

Last week 17-year-old John Edwards became the latest in a list of motorists who have died after he lost control of his Ford Escort on the B4040.

The Minety teenager was heading home when his vehicle left the road. Other drivers have died in similar circumstances on the road - all with no other vehicles involved.

Lesley Bennett, who lives next to the road near to Luckington, said: "Now as we drive towards Malmesbury we will pass three different places where young men have died in their cars and where grieving relatives leave flowers by the roadside. When we drive towards Bath we travel over a burnt section of tarmac where another young man died on his way to work at Dysons a few years ago."

"We often see people driving too fast along a road that should have a 40-50mph limit. Every few months on our stretch alone someone comes off the road and hits a wall or turns their car over.

"There are constant accidents. It's not people crashing into other cars, it's misjudging the bends."

Wiltshire Police yesterday confirmed only two drivers have died on the road since 1990, in fact the B4040 has a below average accident rate for the county, but nearby roads that branch off from it have also had fatal accidents.

Spokesman Graham Chivers said: "Over the years there have been a number of very serious or fatal accidents on this stretch of road. There are speed limits at various points on the road and I would suspect that the vast majority of these accidents have been caused by excessive speed.

"Wiltshire Police support anything which highlights the danger of speeding in an attempt to reduce casualties and fatalities on the county's roads."

North Wiltshire MP James Gray said he would want to know the cause of last week's accident but said there could be a case for reducing the speed limit on certain sections of the road.

"I have reservations about just changing the speed limit but if there are things that can be done to improve road safety then they should be done," he added.

"I think the road needs to be looked at and whether there needs to be particular speed limits on certain corners."

However, John Thomson, district councillor for Sherston where the B4040 passes through, said: "Speed limits are only effective if they are enforced. I'm 100 percent behind anything that will prevent people being killed but I'm also realistic about what will be achievable. If the police don't think there is a problem with the speed limits then I can't foresee anything being done.

"The statistics don't indicate that there is a problem and we can not act until we have the coroner's report.

"My daughter is a new driver so I know it must be absolutely awful for the family but it is important to remember these accidents aren't always caused by speed. Something could have run across the road, he could have lost concentration or there might have been a problem with the vehicle."

Wiltshire County Council spokesman Allan Clarke said: "The police are conducting a thorough investigation into this accident. Should there be any indication that there is an issue with the highway from the coroner we will investigate further."

The County Council is also in the process of reviewing speed limits of all B roads in the county as part of a Government directive due to be completed by 2011.