The busy A66 needs an urgent review to cope with the increase of traffic, a leading parish councillor said. 

Rick Petecki, chairman of Embleton Parish Council, said he was concerned that it appeared no one was taking any notice of the pressure on the main road.

He said:  "There seem to be an increasing number of accidents on the A66. 

"We've also got the new housing developments in Cockermouth, plus there's all this stuff coming in to the county, such as the Moorside nuclear development and the new pipeline. 

"They are all reliant on this one road, it really is the main artery, but according to highways' plans for the next five years, there will be no major work happening west of Penrith.

"Anything new put forward will not be considered until 2020.

"This really upsets me. We really need a review."

Earlier this year, Embleton Parish Council launched a campaign to clamp down on speeding motorists on the old A66.

It was launched after figures revealed that, in one week, more than 3,000 motorists broke the 40mph limit through the village.

But, he said, he and his fellow councillors were shocked at the lack of other work being down.

Mr Petecki, who is vice chairman of the Allerdale division of Cumbria Association of Local Councils, said there were ongoing problems with the A66 junctions at Braithwaite, Dubwath and Wythop Mill as well as Broughton.

Earlier this year villagers at Embleton launched their own crackdown on fast drivers. Eight people were trained by the police to use radar guns to check motorists' speed. 

Mr Petecki said: "The police have been very supportive and for the past four months, a few times a week, the volunteers have been out their in high-visibility yellow jackets.

"Everyone sees them and slow down. It's a great deterrent, but we can't expect volunteers to sit there all day.

"And while we can give numbers to the police, they are so busy these days that this is not going to be one of their priorities."

A recent survey revealed that more than a third of drivers heading through the village were speeding.

He added: "There are lots of concealed drives along there and people do not wanting to be poking their noses out and having things whizzing past. There also seems to be more traffic now the Lakes Distillery at Setmurthy has opened."

The parish council is asking people what action they would like them to take in a bid to deter speeding.  

Mr Petecki added: "We are hoping to purchase two speed indicators and site them in the most appropriate positions on the old A66.

"These seem to be effective, with people slowing down when they actually see their speed being measured. 

"But they would cost about £3,000 so we are going to ask the community what they want us to spend their money on."

Jonathan Reade, asset manager for highways, said: "Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership has commissioned a consultant to look at the whole of Cumbria's transport network and identify what infrastructure improvements are required.

"The county council is also taking forward a study about access to West Cumbria."

In the next 18 months, he said highways would be working out what government funding to bid for during the period 2020 to 2025. 

He added: "All this work that's going on will mean we are better placed to argue our corner then."