Dangerous bends on the main route south into Brighton and Hove could be straightened under delayed plans to improve road safety.

Proposals to widen the A23 between Handcross and Warninglid are being revived almost ten years after they were first mooted.

More than 115 people have been injured on the winding two-mile stretch of the road in the past five years.

Now the Highways Agency has put a package of plans back on the table. They will go out to consultation later this month.

Police have long warned of the dangers at the stretch because cars have to slow down when the steep road changes from three to two lanes.

Improving the stretch was originally part of £60 million improvements from Pease Pottage to Brighton, which started in 1993.

The £10 million plans for Handcross, which included widening to three lanes with an extended fourth climbing lane for lorries, were unveiled in 1994.

A public inquiry took place the following year in which the inspector found the case for work overwhelming.

But in 1996 a Conservative government axed the Handcross Hill scheme due to shortage of money.

PC Stuart Richardson, a police casualty reduction officer, has worked in the area since 1975.

He said: "That stretch causes us a lot of problems. Personally I'm very pleased it's going to be looked at again."

Mid Sussex MP and Slaugham resident Nicholas Soames said: "I'm delighted these proposals have been put forward - and not just as a local resident. I'm pleased for all the people who use the road as that stretch has been a real accident trap."

Plans will be unveiled in a public exhibition at Handcross Parish Hall on May 16 and 17.

Officials from the Highways Agency, part of the Department for Transport, which looks after trunk roads and motorways in England, will be available to answer questions about the scheme.

Wednesday May 7