THRILL seeking youngsters are dicing with death on a lethal stretch of road by switching their headlights off for "a buzz" claims a county councillor.

Coun Ron Mein said he had been given disturbing information from a local teacher that youngsters were using the section of the A590 from Bouth Road end to Greenodd as a mock landing strip, reports Beth Broomby.

This section of road has solar powered cats' eyes that remain lit all the time even when headlights are switched off giving the appearance of a landing strip in the dark.

At yesterday's meeting of Cumbria County Council's cabinet, he made an urgent plea to parents to talk to their children to stamp out the practice before young lives were lost.

"I am very worried about this information. We all did silly things when we were young, but this is very dangerous, potentially fatal."

Coun Mein has also written to the Highways Agency for urgent safety improvements including speed warning signs and chevrons at a sharp left hand bend known locally as "the ski jump."

Coun Mein said the accident that claimed the lives of three young people on March 16 was not connected to reports of dangerous driving. He said he had been deeply upset by the deaths of Gareth Lewis and Victoria Clarke, both of Grange, and Anthony Ramsden, of Ulverston, on that stretch of road.

"You could just see it coming. I have visited that stretch of road and it's like a war zone strewn with number plates, tyre rubber and even personal possessions from different crashes.

"No-one can say what caused this dreadful accident. It could have been mechanical failure, a tyre blow out or a deer in the road. Nevertheless urgent action must be taken to warn drivers of this dangerous bend."

The British Motorcyclists Federation has also called for improvements on the A590 between Greenodd and Bouth. A letter to Coun Mein from the BMF said the section of road was unsafe and risky to motorcyclists due to larger vehicles skidding across the road at the sharp bend.

Cumbria Police press spokesman Mike Smith said traffic officers were aware of anecdotal evidence that youngsters were driving along that section of the A590 without lights. "People have expressed a belief that this may be happening but we have not prosecuted anybody for driving without lights on that section of road."

Coun Mein's comments come in a week when police and highway officials told The Westmorland Gazette that the A590 was considered a safe road and that drivers must take responsibility for most of the accidents that happen along its length because they fail to adapt to the road conditions.

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