CALLS are being made for safety measures to be implemented at the scene of a fatal car crash.

A man died on Wednesday night when his van collided head-on with a car and burst into flames on a bend on the A67 near Teesside Airport.

Farmers whose homes overlook the scene of the crash said it was becoming an accident blackspot and said the road, between Darlington and Stockton, should be widened.

Brenda Harrison, of Low Goosepool Farm, Middleton St George, near Darlington, said: "It is horrendous. In the past three weeks alone there have been five accidents, two of which I have witnessed.

"We came home just a fortnight ago to find a car upside down in a ditch at the bend. We found out that the driver was in hospital.

"This sort of thing is going on all the time. The road needs to be opened out."

One farmer - who asked not to be named - described the bend as a "disaster area".

The farmer, who lives on the Stockton side, said nine motorists had crashed through his fence since June.

A man was airlifted to hospital last month after a crash on the road.

But Cleveland Police said there had only been eight minor accidents on the A67 in Stockton during the past year. Durham Police said their stretch of the road was not an accident blackspot, with four accidents this year.

A Stockton Borough Council spokeswoman said red markings had been painted along the edge of the road last year to improve safety.

"We have never had a request for road widening on that stretch. We will look to see if anything further can be done in light of Wednesday's accident."

* Last night it emerged that a former Middlesbrough and Darlington footballer was injured in Wednesday's crash.

Gary Gill suffered serious leg injuries when his Audi A3 was in a head-on crash with a van. Mr Gill quit as manager of Gateshead last month after being asked to carry out budget cuts.

He works as a promoter and supplier of clothing.