A huge step has been taken in the fight to improve two dangerous junctions on a busy stretch of road.

Campaigners have been pressing highways chiefs for years to make changes to the staggered Brigham and Broughton junctions on the A66, where there have been multiple collisions and several deaths.

Kier Construction, working on behalf of Highways England, has this week revealed initial plans for a four-way roundabout on the road in the middle of the two junctions.

Broughton councillor Nicky Cockburn said exploratory works would begin in the next eight weeks – but there would not be a start date until 2018.

Copies of the plans have been sent out to interested parties, and Kier is asking for opinions.

The news has been welcomed by those who have been tirelessly fighting for major improvements at the notorious black spots.

As well as motorists sitting for lengthy amounts of time at both junctions trying to get onto the A66, there are also major problems with those driving into the exit lane on the main road, waiting to turn into the villages.

Sue Hannah, who lives at Broughton, often travels the road on a daily basis to her Cockermouth business.

However, when the winter nights draw in, she takes a detour to avoid the chaos.

"I've seen so many horrendous incidents there and the dark makes it much more difficult, as you can't judge the speed of the traffic," she said.

"I will be very relieved when the roundabout goes in and I'm delighted to see that it's moving forward."

The state of the road is a sensitive issue with many living in the area.

Little Broughton man Mick Crombleholme has been a passionate campaigner for improvements since 2012.

He said although it was good to see works pushing ahead, he was frustrated it would take so long.

"While we are all pleased the scheme has been recognised as a necessary improvement, it is disappointing to hear that action is so far in the future while further house building in these areas is proceeding rapidly," he added.

Terry Carling, highways engineer for Kier, wants people to submit their views on the latest plans.

He said the current layout of the staggered junctions requires traffic to pull into right-turn lanes to access the junctions and lead to long waits for traffic trying to get onto the A66.

"This can lead to dangerous manoeuvres from these exiting the junctions into the ongoing flow," he said. "The carriageway at this location is also reasonably straight with good visibility which can lead to traffic exceeding the national speed limit, and conflicting with those wishing to turn off the A66."