TWO Newport politicians have added their weight to calls for action on a coastal road where four men died, warning more could "easily be killed".

Dubbed the "road of death" by locals, the B4239 route in St Brides, Newport, was the scene of a tragedy in June.

Brothers Scott, 25, and Warren Harding, 27, Geraint Hill, 26, and Andrew Brooks, 30, from Risca, were killed when their car plunged into a reen.

After the tragedy there were calls for action to be taken by local residents, including barriers along the side of the road and a reduction in the speed limit.

Now Newport councillor Bill Pursey and Richard White, Wentloog community council chairman, have joined local residents in urging the city council to make the road safer.

They are demanding some stretches be re-surfaced, arguing that much of the road is in a poor state and in need of urgent repair.

There are also calls to introduce speed limits along the 60mph four-mile stretch from the outskirts of Duffryn to the Cardiff border.

In an e-mail, a Newport council officer told councillor Pursey, "no works are either planned or necessary".

The Marshfield councillor said there are concerns over the increase of traffic along the road with claims more lorries use it as a shortcut to avoid congestion on the M4.

He said: "Someone else could easily be killed. When you drive along it, you are taking your life in your own hands.

"We are lucky because we know every turn, but for somebody who is not familiar, or a complete stranger, it is horrendous."

Councillor White said: "As a community council, we've been asking for years for the road to be brought up to a decent state of repair.

"The road is being subjected to continuous heavy traffic which is causing the surface to break up. This is because it is not good enough to take the weight and volume of traffic."

He said the road improves once drivers leave the Newport border.

John Thomas, 63, from St Brides, organiser of a 500-signature petition urging safety measures, said: "You see eight-wheel wagons hurtling up and down the lanes - it's terrifying - and we see no action from the council."

An e-mail sent to Councillor Pursey from Cheryll Grant, Newport council's highways network manager, on September 16, said the road is deemed "fit for purpose" and "no works are either planned or deemed necessary from a maintenance perspective".

She said the cabinet member for highways would look into the matter further if cause for concern was raised after the inquest into the June tragedy.

Councillor John Guy, Newport council's cabinet member for engineering and transport, said he could not comment until after the inquest.