Work began this week on the stretch of road between the village and Barrowby, just across the border into Lincolnshire. It is expected to take about 11 weeks to complete and will involve resurfacing, new street lights and better road signs.

There have been a series of fatal accidents on this section of the A52 in recent years, the worst being in February 2006 when six people died and three others were injured in a collision involving a minibus and four lorries between Bottesford and Sedgebrook.

Roger Turnbull, chairman of Bottesford Parish Council, said: "It's a very busy and quite narrow stretch of road which is not really designed to cope with the high volume of traffic it carries.

"We are pleased this work is going ahead, it will make it a better road although I am not sure it will necessarily make it a safer road as what really counts is driver behaviour.

"One thing we will keep campaigning for, however, is a separate access road off the bypass to Belvoir High School. That's still a bugbear for us as Barkestone Lane is too narrow to cope with the increasing number of buses which share it with the pupils and mums with pushchairs who walk to the school and the primary school next door to it."

The works will be carried out overnight and at weekends when traffic flows are lightest to minimise disruption. There will also be closures on eight weekends starting next month.