PLANS to improve safety on the stretch of road where John and Matty Thacker died have already been drawn up.

They involve cutting the speed limit and reducing the carriageway to a single lane in places, similar to improvements on the Kiddermin ster-Worcester A449.

A spokesman for West Mercia Constabulary confirmed that following a number of collisions on the A456 between Blakedown and Kidderminster, a scheme had been investigated in conjunction with the Highways Agency.

Implementation of the scheme was now awaited, said the spokesman.

But discussions over responsibility for the road have been going on for 18 months.

The carriageway's upkeep is currently handled by Highways Agency engineers who decided, last year, to de-trunk it.

This would see it handed over to Worcestershire County Council and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council.

A handover is not expected before April 2008 because of talks over what state the road is in when it changes hands.

It is not known if these ongoing discussions have affected the timetable for the roll-out of the safety scheme.

The A449 Kidderminster to Worcester road was also de-trunked and taken on by the county council on October 1.

Responsibility was transferred only after a major roadworks scheme, which included lower speed limits and narrowing sections of the carriageway to accommodate turning lanes, following a string of serious accidents on the road in previous years.

Conservative Derek Prodger, Worcestershire County Council cabinet member for environmental services, said: "I can tell you the county council was told the A449 would come to us quite a while ago - at least a year - before we eventually adopted it on October 1.

"That was because we wanted the road in a good condition before we took it on.

"The Highways Agency have had four different individuals working on the A456. They've swapped people in and out, they move about and around. That's how the agency works."