Traffic calming and improvements to road surfaces are desperately needed for a busy road in Welshpool, councillors say.

Councillors at Welshpool Town Council say the road surface on Severn Road is in a poor state and speeding drivers heading in and out of town are now putting lives at risk.

Councillor Phil Pritchard, whose ward boundary is marked by the road, says the issues on the road are long standing problems in the town and has called for improvements to be made.

"We have got an issue in this town that I've complained about for 7 or 8 years, and everyone promises it in next years budget every year, and I refer to the trunk road on Severn Road," he said.

"It's the busiest road traffic in the town and quite honestly I've been promised improvements but it hasn't come up at all. It's the worst stretch of road in the town.

"It's in a hell of a state. It's 150 yards, there's the police station, fire station, ambulance station, the biggest care home in the area and very shortly a welsh stream school on the same stretch with all the children coming and going."

Councillors have also called for traffic calming to be put in place on the stretch of road between the railway station and the town centre, which is a 30mph stretch of road but where drivers are known to regularly exceed the limit.

The problem is made worse by the steep gradient on a hump-back bridge near the magistrates court, councillors say.

"Despite the awful surface of the road we also have a problem with speeding cars and we really should be talking about traffic calming," says Cllr Geoff Lanaghan, who lives on the road.

"We've had several accidents on the road because visibility is limited by the canal bridge and speeding drivers can't see what's on the other side of the bridge.

"Given the number of school children and elderly people on the road and the fact that the zebra crossing outside the police station of all places is virtually ignored - resurfacing and traffic calming are essential and they must be completed before the new school is built."

Montgomeryshire Member of Senedd Russell George said he would take the matter up with the County Council and the police.

"The Welsh Government is looking into bringing in legislation that would make the default 20mph rather than the current speed limits of 30," he said.

"This is an opportunity here for the local authority to make a change without cost to the local authority."