FRESH calls have been made to take safety action on a “dangerous” stretch of main road between Stroud and Painswick.

Over the last year and a half there have been four serious and one fatal crash on the A46 near Pitchcombe and Salmon Springs.

The latest calls action come after a car was written off when it smashed through a wall near the rear of the Trading Estate.

The yellow Honda careened off Painswick Road after the driver lost control on the bend at 11pm on Wednesday, January 4.

After veering into the other side of the main road the car bounced off the low brick wall at the back of the pool hall and Malt House Emporium.

The front of the vehicle was completely crushed in the crash and the rear bumper also suffered severe damage.

The driver, a 34-year-old man from Gloucester, suffered only a minor cut to the head and was treated by paramedics at the scene.

The current speed limit on the A46 to Painswick is 40mph. But Helen Tweddle, owner and director of the Malt House Emporium, says this needs to be properly enforced.

She is calling for speed cameras, warning signs and more awareness about the limit on the road.

“My desk is three metres from the window and looks out right onto the A46,” she said. “You see some absolutely ludicrous driving.

“Every day I see around 30 or more cars come flying round the bend at 70 or 80mph. My windows actually shake because of how fast they go.

“At night it gets even worse and the road is completely unlit. It only takes a little bit of ice or a wet surface and an accident is waiting to happen. It can be a lethal and dangerous bend.

“Ideally I’d like to see a proper speed camera installed to enforce the 40mph limit.

“But I know Stroud Town Council has funding to install four speed signs in the parish – so that would be a great alternative. I think the A46 is a perfect spot for one.

“Either way, something really needs to be done to make sure accidents don’t keep happening here.”

Cllr Sarah Lunnon, county councillor for Stroud Central, said she was relieved the most recent crash was not as serious as the previous few.

“The latest incident on the A46 has not been serious and for that I am pleased,” she said.

“We need to reduce road danger, reduce the speeds of vehicles on our roads, make them safer for those who live or work alongside them and enable drivers to judge risk more accurately.”

Following a speed assessment carried out on A46 in April 2016, Gloucestershire County Council said it was installing and renewing signs along the main road.

Daniel Tiffney, local highways manager, said: “Following the speed survey we are improving and renewing signs and markings along sections of the A4173 and A46.

“In addition, we are talking with the police about how we can further improve safety.”

The speed test done between Wades Lane and Halfway Pitch in April showed that the mean average speed of the road at that point was 43.7mph.

Just over a year ago a 51-year-old woman from Stroud died when her car collided with another vehicle on the A46 between Pitchcombe and Salmon Springs.