Herts County Council has said it is looking at short-term improvements as well as larger scale proposals for the A505 between Royston and Baldock.

The update from the county council into making the A505 safer - a call backed by the Crow and campaigners in Royston - comes after North East Herts MP Sir Oliver Heald said improvements were a matter of urgency, and that he would push for government funding if proposals went through.

Earlier this month, Sir Oliver Heald told the Crow: "I am pressing the county council to bring forward their proposals for the A505 as a matter of urgency, and have told them I would campaign for any necessary government funding bid from the county council.

"I have asked for an urgent briefing on progress with their timetable for action. I am also asking the county council for a public information campaign to highlight the need to drive with care on the A505."

The Crow's campaign to Make the A505 Safer came about due to the number of incidents we report on between the Royston to Baldock stretch, and the many more near-misses we hear about. The road is 70mph, dotted with cut-through junctions for access to our rural villages and has a real problem with wrong-way drivers.

The county council carried out a feasibility study into the stretch which concluded in March 2018 and are considering proposals to make changes to the road.

In response to Sir Oliver's comments, a Herts County Council spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the issues that have been raised and take all safety concerns extremely seriously.

"We are looking at a number of short-term improvement measures such as additional signage and road markings, giving clear directions to motorists to reinforce that the road sections are one-way.

"Larger scale proposals are being considered as part of wider A505 strategy work which is ongoing."