AN MP is backing a campaign to have a speed limit imposed on a stretch of main road which cuts through a village.

And in a double boost for concerned residents, Durham County Council has announced that it is looking into ways of cutting speed on the road at Evenwood Gate, near Barnard Castle.

Vehicles can travel through the village at up to 60mph. The council has rejected earlier requests for a 40mph limit, saying it would be impractical and impossible to enforce.

Helen Goodman, MP for Bishop Auckland, said yesterday: "The county council's handling of this has been totally unsatisfactory. They have failed to take account of vital factors, such as the frequency of accidents and the number of children who live around the village."

She raised the issue with the council in 2005, and has now written to it again, as well as to the police, urging that a speed limit be considered.

Ms Goodman said: "This campaign deserves a swift solution. Surely the length of the village is less important than the number of people likely to be injured.

"The insensitivity of both the police and the council to the interests of rural communities does not augur well for the effectiveness of the coming unitary authority."

One of the campaign leaders, Malcolm Dowson, said yesterday: "Ms Goodman has got it completely right.

"The figures police have got from monitoring the road are fine, but they haven't taken into account the fact that there is a blind spot in the village, plus road junctions and a farm entrance.

"Does there have to be another death or a really bad smash before we get the right speed limit?"

Mr Dowson's step-daughter, Jestine Fennessey, 16, was hurt and trapped in a telephone kiosk in the village two years ago, when a car skidded into it.

A county council spokesman said traffic now passed through the village at an average of 50mph, and it was felt that putting up 40mph signs would do little to change this. The council intends to consult on a proposal by the end of the year.