HIGHWAYS officials plan to make an accident blackspot junction safer, but calls to reduce the speed limit have been deferred.

Several accidents, in which people have been injured, have occurred at the Bournmoor junction on the A1052, near Chester-le-Street.

"The current road configuration has an unusual pattern of traffic movements around an existing traffic island and has been the subject of several low cost amendments that have not resolved the conflict," said Durham County Council highways officer Roger Elphick.

Financial constraints mean the council cannot build a standard roundabout but it is planning one similar to a roundabout on the A167 at the Cock o' the North on the outskirts of Durham.

Residents' associations in the area have called for the speed limit on the road to be reduced from 40mph to 30mph.

The new junction will feature a pedestrian refuge and an anti-skid surface on a downhill approach.

But the idea has failed to win the support of Durham Police because it does not qualify for a lower limit under existing Government guidelines.

A review of the guidelines is being undertaken by the Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions.

The council's highways committee has backed the planned improvements to the junction and decided to defer a decision on a lower speed limit.

Councillors agreed that the situation be monitored and reviewed if changes are made to the current guidelines.