VILLAGERS have lost faith in the Highways Agency’s ability to tackle safety concerns on the A1, according to MP Jonathan Djanogly.

He wrote to HA chief executive Graham Dalton after being contacted by Diddington and Buckden residents and told him “faith has been lost” in the agency. He said: “My constituents are concerned about how many more people will have to be killed or maimed on this stretch of the A1 before appropriate action is taken to address the problems.”

Mr Djanogly said new signs promised following the death of Diddington resident Barbara Wlodarczyk in January had not materialised.

“Ideally the villagers would like to see a bypass between Baldock and Alconbury or a flyover for Southoe and Diddington but at the very least they need slip roads for all entrances and exits on both the north and southbound carriageways,” he wrote.

He enclosed a petition signed by residents and visitors to the village urging safety measures be provided.

On Buckden, Mr Djanogly told Mr Dalton that one answer could be to force A1 traffic to stop at the roundabout, or to introduce average speed cameras to enforce the 50mph limit.

Lorraine Sherrington, who lives in Diddington, urged the MP to raise the issue with the Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin if he did not receive a reply from Mr Dalton within 15 working days. “This is the time the Highways Agency allow for a response,” she added.

But Mr Djanogly said he did not expect a response for “a month at least”.

“If they do not respond or I do not get an adequate response I will take it up to the ministry, to whom the Highways Agency answers to.”

He said the HA had taken some action, such as reconfiguring the Buckden roundabout, but had not acted to the extent he would have liked it to.