Coroner brands A1 stretch as the 'weakest link'

Mr Brown was speaking at an inquest on drivers Ian Thompson, 51, and David Clarkson, 42, who were killed when their vehicles collided head-on on the single carriageway section of the A1 Felton bypass in February.

Mr Thompson, of Merton Cottages, Embleton, Northumberland, was driving his Nissan van south when Mr Clarkson, who was travelling north from London to Edinburgh, pulled out of a line of traffic and into the southbound carriageway.

Mr Thompson, a married man whose job involved cutting away trees from power lines, had no chance of avoiding the collision and was killed instantly in the 7am smash. Mr Clarkson, from Croydon, died later that day in hospital.

Yesterday's hearing in Berwick was told there was no apparent reason for Mr Clarkson suddenly indicating and pulling out right in front of Mr Thompson's oncoming vehicle. Mr Brown said it was the second inquest he had conducted recently in which a local man driving to work on the A1 in Northumberland at normal speed and on the correct side of the road had his life abruptly ended in a horrific collision.

The other involved Amble fisherman Alan Gair, 37, who died in October last year when his car was in collision with a lorry on a single carriageway stretch of the A1 at Mousen Bends near Belford.

That accident happened when the Dutch driver of the lorry, Klaas Rehorst, pulled out as he approached a bend to overtake a 90-tonne mobile crane and ploughed into Mr Gair's Vauxhall Vectra.

Yesterday Mr Brown said the common factor in both accidents was that one of the drivers involved had travelled a long distance from outside the area and was less familiar with the standard of the A1 in Northumberland.

He said while most of the A1 from London to Edinburgh was dual carriageway or motorway, the section between Morpeth and Berwick alternated between dual and single carriageway. This made some visiting drivers behave as though they were on continuous dualled road.

"The road is clearly the weakest link between London and Edinburgh," he said. "The alarming aspect is that because north Northumberland has a lower population than other areas, the A1 has not received a high priority for upgrading to dual carriageway. There are bound to be more preventable deaths of this kind if this continues to be the case."

Mr Brown said he would write to the Highways Agency, pointing out the circumstances of both recent inquests and asking what steps it can take to prevent similar deaths.

"I sincerely hope that something substantial will be done to upgrade the A1 trunk road to recognise the safety hazard it currently presents," he added.

Yesterday's inquest heard from witness Jayne Strong from Alnwick, who was driving south behind Mr Thompson. She said that when she saw Mr Clarkson's van suddenly appear in front of them she thought "what on earth is he doing?"

Last night a Highways Agency spokeswoman said:"We understand that the coroner is writing to the agency about the tragic fatal accident in February 2009 and we will, of course, respond to him directly on any issues raised.

"We would like to offer our continued sympathy to the family and friends of those who died as a result of the accident. Safety is our priority and we work hard to manage the motorways and trunk roads to keep them safe and serviceable for all road users."

Verdicts: accidental death.