FRESH calls have been made for improvements on a treacherous stretch of the A66 which locals fear is fast becoming an accident blackspot.

Renewed pleas have been issued by Embleton parish council following a fatal crash on Saturday in which a 74-year-old west Cumbrian man died.

Four members of his family, from west Cumbria and Nottinghamshire, were also in the silver Nissan Note he was driving at Embleton, between Cockermouth and Keswick.

Two of the passengers were airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle with the others being taken to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

A police spokesman said: “The four injured remain in a serious condition in hospital."

There are now calls for a "major review" into the stretch of road following a number of serious incidents.

Parish councillors have been calling for action on the busy of road for the last 18 months.

Rick Petecki, from the parish council, said: “There have been several accidents around there recently, we would like to see a major review being carried out.

“We have been working on it for the past 18 months, we are working with Highways England to try and improve those four junctions along that stretch, it seems to be developing into a blackspot.

“They are preparing a plan and we are trying to get Highways England and Cumbria County Council together to look at that whole stretch.”

There has been an increase in traffic levels over the years, according to the parish council.

“The A66 is busier, at certain times of the day there’s a constant stream of traffic,” added Mr Petecki, who is also chairman of the Cumbria Association of Local Councils.

“There is also a real mix, with farm vehicles, traffic coming from the Strawberry How estate in Cockermouth, C2C cyclists crossing over and local businesses.”

A blue Volkswagen Golf was also involved involved in Saturday's collision. The driver, a local woman, was taken to the Cumberland Infirmary and was later discharged with “relatively minor injuries”, said the police spokesman.

No further details about the identities of the casualties have been released.

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward to help with their investigation.

The crash happened near to the Dubwath turn off, close to Embleton.

The Nissan Note was travelling towards Cockermouth with the Volkswagen in the opposite direction.

The busy route was closed for almost six hours while emergency services dealt with the incident, which happened shortly after 4pm.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service crews from Cockermouth, Keswick and Workington attended the scene along with police, colleagues from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) and The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).

Firefighters used hydraulic rescue equipment and small tools to release those trapped and were at the scene for almost three hours.

Anyone with information about the incidents should call police on 101.