A councillor is demanding action on a junction with a busy main road following another serious collision.

The A690 near Durham was closed for more than five hours last night after a serious collision at the West Rainton and Pittington Road junction.

Two people were taken to hospital following the crash, which happened just before 5.30pm on Saturday, July 2 and is thought to have involved two-vehicles.

There have been numerous crashes there over the years and a scheme to put traffic lights on the junction has been in the works since 2014.

Read more: Update as two are taken to hospital after serious crash on A690 in County Durham

However, the work is yet to take place.

Cllr David Hall, who represents the Sherburn division on Durham County Council: "It’s really frustrating. I’ve been banging my head against a brick wall for years. I drove past the collision on Saturday and thought ‘enough is enough’.

“I don’t know what happened in the collision but it doesn’t matter if it was a driver fault or whether it was junction related. If it had signals maybe the collision wouldn’t have happened.”

The Northern Echo: Councillor David Hall Councillor David Hall

The developer behind a housing scheme of Station Road, on the West Rainton side of the junction.  has to contribute financially to the project.

Meanwhile Durham County Council has agreed to pay for work on the Pittington side of the junction.

It is understood the current hold-up is related to haggling over how much is paid by whom, Cllr Hall said.

Tees Valley Housing was given planning permission for 150 homes off Station Road in 2014, despite concerns about the impact of the development on the already busy junction with the A690.  At the time, it was said the A690 junction would get traffic lights to improve safety.

Cllr Hall has written to the highways authority to request action is taken swiftly.

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In a letter seen by the Northern Echo he said lives were being put at risk due to inaction over the work. He said: “I think the haggling now has to stop. Lives are clearly being put at continuing serious risk.”

Sgt Milburn, from Durham Police, says officers have made changes to their shifts to try and progress the investigation into the collision as soon as possible.

He said: “We have changed officers shifts in order to progress the investigation and make swift contact with Durham County Council to see what can be done with this particular junction – and the others nearby – ASAP.

“We will also liaise with Northumberland Police and Sunderland City Council so that they are not adversely affected by any changes we bring.”

In response, Durham County Council said that it is aware of the concerns raised over the A690 junction.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We are sorry to hear of Saturday’s incident. We are aware that concerns have been raised about safety at the West Rainton junction of the A690 and are working with the nearby housing developer to consider a potential future scheme in the location.”

Two people were taken to hospital following the collision last night.

The A690 near Durham was closed just before 5.30pm after a two-vehicle crash, police said.

Emergency services were on the scene  for some time.

One patient was taken to the Sunderland Royal Hospital while a second person was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle by the Great North Air Ambulance.

On Saturday, a North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called to reports of a road traffic collision on the junction of the A690 Pittington Road at 5.22pm this evening. 

"We dispatched two ambulance crews, one crew from our Hazardous Area Response Team and a clinical team leader, and requested support from Great North Air Ambulance Service.

"One patient was taken by road to Sunderland Royal Hospital and a second patient was flown to the RVI."

The road reopened at around 11pm on Saturday night.

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