MP Peter Luff has warned that more people will die if drastic safety measures are not introduced on the A449.

The warning has come three weeks after 16-year-old Michelle Bolton was killed crossing the dual carriageway as she walked home from a party.

An action group led by her grieving parents, Terry and Judith, called for the Hartlebury section of road to be narrowed in both directions, a reduced speed limit imposed and a crossing installed.

They also threatened that they, and other residents on a Hartlebury housing estate, would leave if the measures were not carried out on the road, which splits the village in two.

Now Mr Luff, who lobbied the Highways Agency on the issue, has warned that its response did not reflect the urgency and understanding for which he had hoped.

"In the light of the tragedy in my constituency recently, I conclude that more radical action is needed than the Agency plans," he said. "More people will die unless more thorough action is taken."

He condemned the traffic lights between Hartlebury and Kidderminster, which have led to motorists racing along the section to beat slow moving traffic.

"It gets rid of frustration caused from having to wait in traffic jams at those lights," he said. "This has effectively led to speeding in the Hartlebury area."

Mr and Mrs Bolton - who live in Waresley Park with their two other children aged 15 and 10 - said their daughter's death was the nightmare they had feared since moving to the village two years ago.

After Michelle's funeral on Monday, her parents said neighbours with children on the 60-home estate had feared there was "a tragedy waiting to happen".

A public meeting organised by the action group and Hartlebury Parish Council is planned for Thursday, March 29. A petition is also being organised.