THE speed limit could drop to 50mph along a four-mile stretch of the A127 as part of a drive to cut down on accidents and deaths.

Essex County Council plans to impose the lower limit between Wickford and the Southend borough boundary.

The scheme has been approved by Norman Hume, county council cabinet member for highways, and will now go out to public consultation.

In the past five years there have been 260 accidents along the stretch of road which have led to four deaths and 373 casualties.

Henry Baker, of Essex Gardens, Leigh, whose 18-year-old son, Mark, was killed in a crash on the A127 with friends Glen and Gary Dineen in August 2001, was overjoyed by the plan.

The trio crashed into a pylon near the junction with Rayleigh Downs Road, just outside the Southend borough boundary.

Mr Baker said: "I am absolutely delighted because we have been campaigning to achieve this for so long. A lot of people have put in a lot of work to achieve this situation and I find it hard to believe it is really going to happen.

"I just hope it means no one else will have to go through what I have since the death of my son."

Jim Clinkscales, deputy leader of Southend Council's Liberal Democrat group, has also been calling for better safety measures on the Arterial Road.

He said: "The A127 is an incredibly dangerous road, with the speed limit suddenly changing from 70mph to 40mph at the borough boundary. This move could improve traffic flows, as there will not be so much bunching up of traffic when it reaches the borough boundary."

Norman Hume, county council cabinet member for highways, said it would be important to couple the speed reduction with a greater effort to enforce it using speed cameras.

He added: "This will assist in altering the behaviour of drivers along this length of road and reduce the number of casualties."

However, Castle Point MP Dr Bob Spink, whose constituency takes in the stretch of road, said while he supported the move, he did not want it to be a licence for the overuse of speed cameras. He said: "What I would not support is the excessive use of speed cameras to try and catch motorists. We have to be sensible about over-enforcement."

Mark Francois, Conservative MP for Rayleigh, added: "I would like assurance this move will not lead to more congestion on what is one of the busiest roads in the county, if not the South East of England."