RESIDENTS have called for action over a treacherous stretch of road after a taxi passenger died in an accident early yesterday morning.

The appeal came after the taxi left the road and hit a brick bus shelter on the western edge of Dipton, County Durham, at about 4.30am.

Stephen Spence, who lives yards from the crash site, said last night: "Only a few months ago, a man was seriously hurt when he was thrown from a car that had crashed and landed inside our front gate.

"This is latest in a series of crashes on this stretch of road. It is an accident blackspot.

"We have an ongoing fear that someone is going to arrive through our front window.

"The road should either be straightened or highway chiefs should look again at the possibility of a bypass for Dipton."

A police spokesman said the taxi was heading towards Consett from Newcastle on the A692, between 4.30am and 4.45am, with one passenger, a man, sitting in the back seat.

The victim was Andrew Rowland, 29, of Durham Road, Lead-gate, near Consett.

The police spokesman said: "The driver appears to have lost control of the taxi as it came around a bend and collided with a brick bus shelter.

"As a result, the passenger sustained fatal injuries. He was declared dead at the scene."

The road was closed for three hours. The driver, a 35-year-old man from Newcastle, suffered broken ribs and a broken hip. He was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham.

Mr Spence said: "We heard the bang, but it is not unusual.

"There have been an awful lot of accidents along this stretch of road, between the edge of the village and the junction with the A693. There are a number of S-bends and the road can get very wet or icy."

Police appealed to anyone who saw the collision or saw the taxi being driven before then to call 0191-375 2159.