BRIGHTWELL: Action has been taken to make one of Suffolk's steepest hills safer for drivers after three crashes in three days.

BRIGHTWELL: Action has been taken to make one of Suffolk's steepest hills safer for drivers after three crashes in three days.

Icy conditions have made Brightwell Hill treacherous for motorists.

After an appeal from residents, east area highway manager at the county council, Derek Oldham, agreed to send a small gritter to the village to put sand on the road while night-time temperatures are still plummeting to below zero.

Residents say the hill is an accident black-spot every winter due to ice and were dismayed that the road through Brightwell had not been gritted since county highways chiefs altered their gritting priorities after supplies ran short during last month's snow.

On Saturday, a woman from Bucklesham lost control of her Ford Street Ka going down the hill, came off the road and destroyed a fence.

On Monday, a car travelling from the Martlesham direction lost control after the bend at the bottom of the hill, narrowly missed a woman walking with her daughter, before hitting the fence on the opposite side of the road.

Later, with the road still icy and slippery, another vehicle left the road and destroyed one of the gate posts of Forge Cottage.