ROAD accidents in Callow End are not frequent or serious enough to justify installing speed cameras, according to official statistics.

Although district councillor Tom Wells said there had been at least six accidents at Old Hills, Callow End, in the last six months, this was not reflected in the number of accidents reported to the police.

Mike Digger, of West Mercia Traffic Management, told Powick Parish Council that data for the entire road from Powick through Callow End showed only seven collisions involving personal injuries in a three-year period. Of these, only three were within Callow End and four were nearer to Powick.

"All our enforcement is in areas where there is proven collision history, where speed is an issue," he said.

However, Mr Digger said it was a totally different story at Powick, where there had been 18 accidents involving injuries in three years.

These did not include the large number of accidents at the Powick roundabout on the Worcester southern link road, although it is in the parish of Powick.

He suggested a better case could be made for installing a speed camera if statistics were considered together.

"I am not entirely happy with the road layout near Sparrowhall Lane, in either direction," he added.

"Traffic breaks open into two lanes and they all meet at the end of the dual carriageway. I would like to see both of these narrowed down to single lanes and the leading vehicle would then dictate the speed of all vehicles behind it

"This is a hot spot, with motorists turning across the dual carriageway, where vehicles are travelling at 60mph. We have been talking with Highways about the possibility of creating a safe area for vehicles to stop," said Mr Digger

The parish council is to consider whether parish funds could be used to pay for the cost of speed cameras.

A vehicle-activated speed warning sign at Powick traffic lights frequently fails because the high volume of traffic causes the batteries to run out quickly, members were told.