A MEDICAL centre in a Broadland village has thrown its weight behind a call to make a busy road safer for motorists.Norfolk County Council is under increasing pressure to grit Catfield Road in Ludham, near Yarmouth, over the winter to stop cars careering off in icy or frosty conditions.

A MEDICAL centre in a Broadland village has thrown its weight behind a call to make a busy road safer for motorists.

Norfolk County Council is under increasing pressure to grit Catfield Road in Ludham, near Yarmouth, over the winter to stop cars careering off in icy or frosty conditions.

Ludham Parish Council has repeatedly asked for County Hall to salt a treacherous bend in the road to stop further accidents.

The call for action is being supported by the Ludham Medical Centre whose staff have dealt with the aftermath of several crashes.

And for practice manager Gail Adams the problem of travelling along the ungritted Catfield Road in cold weather is close to home as she was involved in car crash there in January.

Mrs Adams said: “I had an accident there in January simply because the road was not salted.

“For drivers who regularly use that road it is a bit of a peril. It is definitely a hazard, especially for older drivers.”

Although the council says it will only salt Catfield Road in prolonged period of freezing weather, officials pointed out the main route through Ludham, the A0162, is a top priority for gritting.

Spokesman John Birchall said: “We have considered this request carefully, but unfortunately we can see no overriding reason for the road to be added to our priority salting scheme.

“Diverting a vehicle on to a lower category route would delay treatment on more heavily trafficked routes.

“Every full run costs us �30,000 so we have to be very careful to ensure that the service is provided fairly across the whole county.