PLANS for two working groups to look at Tweeddale's accident blackspots have been announced.

A case has been made by Councillor Stuart Bell (SNP) to consider the possibility of setting up working groups to analyse the A72 and A701 roads on a 'section-by-section' basis, to identify major areas of concern.

Speaking at the Tweeddale Area Forum in Innerleithen on Wednesday evening, Councillor Bell said: "The A701 is the longest high level A road in Scotland. There are a number of safety issues after a string of accidents which have occurred on the A701 and A72 in recent years.

"The proposed working groups would look at the safety and layout of the road, and this would be made up of representatives from the nearby towns and villages and members from community councils."

The discussion follows several tragedies and accidents on the two Tweeddale roads in recent months.

Last week, a 50-year-old woman from Walkerburn died after a collision with a car on the A72.

In October, 86-year-old Joan Mellors from Peebles died after her car left the road and ended up in a field near Blyth Bridge.

In August, a 45-year-old man died in a collision on the the A701 near Tweedsmuir. And in June, a driver suffered minor injures in an early-morning collision between Lamancha and Station Road, West Linton.