THE LACK of action to improve a notorious stretch of the A64 road which has claimed 12 lives in some six years, has been slammed by the area's coroner.

The broadside by Michael Oakley, the North Yorkshire East Coroner, came when he was giving his verdict in a crash in which a 74 year old man died. He attacked successive Governments for leaving North Yorkshire "lost in the mists of time" by failing to carry out significant upgrading of the road.

He said the stretch between the dual carriageways at Malton bypass and the Welburn junction was particularly dangerous.

"This part of the country is lost in the mists of time as far as central Government is concerned and that is extremely regrettable, bearing in mind that not only is this a busy holiday road, and this accident happened at a peak holiday time, but it could have been much more serious."

Mr Oakley was told that the car driven by Jack Cauldwell, 74, a retired graphic designer of Jameson Crescent, Scarborough, had crashed into a holiday coach carrying a party of trippers who were returning to Liverpool after a day out in Heartbeat country at Goathland.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Oakley said Mr Cauldwell had apparently suffered driver fatigue and lost control of his car on the western side of Golden Hill, Malton.

The inquest had heard from Traffic Constable David Foster that although recent improvements had been carried out on Golden Hill itself, the bend where the accident occurred had not seen any changes.

Mr Oakley warned: "This crash could have been even more serious with a greater loss of life because it involved a coach.

"Thankfully, that did not happen but there will be, I am afraid, unless something is done to improve this road."

Mr Oakley said it was wrong that the A64 had been excluded from some of the road improvements announced by the Government.

His sentiments were echoed by Malton's member on North Yorkshire County Council, Mike Knaggs, who led the successful campaign last year to have the road markings improved on Golden Hill.

"The A64 is not consistent - in parts it is dualled, in others it is a single carriageway which must cause confusion and hazards to the many motorists visiting this area."

Coun Knaggs added: "The whole of the A64 needs attention because the volume of traffic is going to get worse. It is a road which carries heavy traffic throughout the year, especially trucks."

He said there was a need for improvements to be carried out in the approaches at each end of Golden Hill where there have been four double fatal crashes.

Brian Dobson, from the Highways Agency, said: "In April last year, a package of new experimental safety measures was installed on Golden Hill.

"The number of accidents on Golden Hill has since fallen. A decision on whether or not these measures will be permanent has yet to be made.

"Upgrading the road to modern standard will require a considerable amount of money.

"We will continue to monitor this part of the road to see if any short-term improvements can be made."

Updated: 09:35 Thursday, March 07, 2002