TIMBER lorries and speeding drivers are being blamed for turning a stretch of country road into an accident blackspot.

Residents are concerned a fatality will occur unless something is done to improve safety on the B712 between Stobo and Drumelzier.

The latest accident on the road on Thursday , August 14, was the 43rd in the last seven years, according to Robert Balfour, the managing director of Dawyck Estates.

“There’s already been some quite bad crashes along here and unfortunately there will be a fatality eventually unless the problems are addressed,” he said.

Mr Balfour is convinced that a large part of the problem is caused by the logging lorries that use the road as a short cut between the A72 and the A701.

“They have a legal right to use the roads, of course, as they pay tax but maybe something can be done to deter them,” he said.

“I am concerned about the whole stretch of road - it’s being worn away by the continual use of lorries. The council occasionally fill the holes but it’s not long before the road is in a bad state again.

“I would like to see the speed limit reduced from the current 60mph as well - the poor surface does make it dangerous at that speed.” Gordon Hughes, the chairman of Manor, Stobo and Lyne Community Council, said: “The community council has been very concerned for some time about the state of the road and the number of accidents.

“I’m not sure about the accuracy of Mr Balfour’s figures but I’m sure there are between five and 10 accidents every year - and quite a few of them cause significant injuries.

“There has been an increase in the amount of heavy traffic because satnavs send them along this route.

“The community council has written to the timber hauliers and it is trying to get them to use a different route.

“It might help if the road was de-designated but even then there would be no guarantees that the lorries wouldn’t come this way.

“The state of the road is the main reason for the accidents as some drivers tend to steer towards the middle to avoid the potholes and this is more likely to cause a problem.

“But speed is also a problem - there are rather too many boy racers who tend to go fast on the straight stretch through Stobo but then aren’t aware that they need to slow down as the road becomes winding and narrow.

“We’d all like to see the speed limit reduced but we’ve been told this stretch of road does not qualify for it.” Police said the road was blocked for around five hours after the August 14 accident between the entrance to Dawyck Gardens and Drumelzier.

A 43-year-old woman was taken to the Borders General Hospital and treated for minor injuries.

She was driving a Hyundai coupe that was in collision with a single-decker bus which had no passengers on board. The bus driver escaped unhurt.