The A167, which links Chester-le-Street and Durham, passes through the village of Chester Moor, and has a 70mph limit.

Residents say the community is split onto both sides of the road, and that children and elderly people regularly have to cross high-speed traffic.

But Durham County Council says there is are too few homes on the road to justify lowering the limit.

It's absolutely ridiculous that there are motorway speed limits on a road running through a village Kevan Jones MP

Peter Lawson, chairman of the Chester Moor Community Group, said: "Because all our houses aren't gathered along the sides of the road people might not realise they're driving through a village but they are.

"Our people are split on either side of the road and need to cross it to catch buses or use facilities, and trying to cross 70mph traffic with no protection at all is a very dangerous thing."

Kevan Jones, MP for Durham North, has also backed the residents' campaign.

He said: "It's absolutely ridiculous that there are motorway speed limits on a road running through a village.

'Minimal frontage'

"It makes it difficult for children and old people to cross, and all this needs is a bit of common sense."

Roger Elphick, highways operation manager at Durham County Council, insists they cannot justify lowering the speed limit through Chester Moor, and that enough is being done to make the road safe.

He said: "It's a rural dual carriageway with minimal frontage development. The average speed isn't particularly high on this road, and we've also added roundabouts to slow the speed down.

"We're also in the process of closing down some of the junctions which have really been the cause of most of the problems and accidents."