A BUSY road which has claimed the lives of two children in the past six years has been declared one of Britain's most improved roads.

The 11km stretch of the A682 from the A56 south of Rawtenstall to where it meets the A646 in Burnley, is third in a list of 13 roads throughout the country where the risk to road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, has been greatly reduced.

According to the AA, which has produced the figures, low-cost road safety measures have drastically reduced the number of serious accidents on the road.

But Lancashire County Council put the reduction in accidents down to safer driving by motorists.

A spokesman said: "On the whole, 11km stretch of the A682 between the A56 south of Rawtenstall and Burnley we have only put in one small safety scheme so far, which involved a signing gateway into Clowbridge. It would seem that the reduction in accidents are largely due to a change in driver attitudes."

According to the AA's new figures the number of fatal and serious accidents on the road had fallen by 54 per cent, from 28 in the period from 1997 to 1999 to 13 in the period from 1999 to 2001. The report stated that safety measures so far had been aimed at avoiding head-on collisions and single vehicle run-offs.

Calls for safety measures on the A682 were made after two children were killed, in two separate incidents, while trying to cross the bypass between Rawtenstall and Edenfield.