SUGGESTIONS by Hunts Post readers to improve the deadly Forty Foot Road have been applauded by Cambridgeshire County Council. After a meeting yesterday (Tuesday) engineers will be working to see how some of the ideas can be put in place and recommendation

SUGGESTIONS by Hunts Post readers to improve the deadly Forty Foot Road have been applauded by Cambridgeshire County Council.

After a meeting yesterday (Tuesday) engineers will be working to see how some of the ideas can be put in place and recommendations will be presented to the council's cabinet at a meeting early in May.

Russell de Ville, the county's head of road safety, said: "It was a good meeting of minds. We considered the issues raised by readers and in petitions.

"There were some positive comments about readers' suggestions.

"There are some sound ideas but possibly some practical difficulties. The next step is to get to the bottom of the technicalities."

He added that the council wanted to run an educational publicity campaign to alert drivers to the dangers of speeding and overtaking along the road.

Meanwhile, a council spokesman said drivers should treat the road with respect and slow down. The vast majority of respondents to The Hunts Post poll have called for improvements, including an overtaking ban, a lower speed limit, speed cameras and street lighting. Some have backed Chatteris Town Councillor, Alan Melton's call to close the road.

Over a thousand people in Ramsey, Warboys and the Fenland towns of Benwick, Chatteris and Doddington have signed a petition calling on the county council to make the road safer.

The petition was presented to the council last month by Councillors, Ray Powell and Chris Howes members of Ramsey and Chatteris Town Councils respectively. They are both district councillors and the call has been backed by Huntingdonshire District Council.

The current speed limit is 50mph and there is no lighting. Some 3,000 drivers use the road each day and it is the only direct route between Ramsey and Chatteris.

The road was built in the 17th century when the Fens were drained and the cutting was made by Dutch and Scottish prisoners of war.

A footpath was designed as a track for pedestrians and horses.

Since it was first surfaced, dredging the river has made the road narrower so there is hardly any bank between the road and the river.

On the other side there is a deep ditch and the surface moves because it is built on peat.

* The Hunts Post poll closes on Wednesday, March 22. The following week, we will publish the results in full.