Concerns have been raised about the safety of a west Suffolk country lane where an elderly female pedestrian was killed after a collision with a car on Monday.

The victim, in her 80s, who has not yet been named by police, died after the accident in Stanstead, near Long Melford, which took place on the B1066 Lower Street at around 3.15pm.

The elderly pedestrian was involved in a collision with a grey BMW on the rural road, which has no pavement, and the BMW driver suffered minor injuries in the incident.

Emergency services, including the East Anglian Air Ambulance, attended the scene and Lower Street was closed in both directions for some time while an investigation took place.

The accident happened only metres from a crash involving a drunk driver in February when a car ploughed into a stone wall of an outbuilding.

Dmitrijus Malachovskis, a Lithuanian national, was more than four times over the alcohol limit and was sentenced to 10-weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, and banned from driving for 32 months.

Rory Coxhill, 52, who lives at Lower Street, contacted the police and crime commissioner for Suffolk following the February crash to ask what was being done to combat speeding and drink driving incidents on the road.

He said: “Although I don’t know what caused this accident, we are plagued by speeding drivers and drink drivers in the area.

“This isn’t boy racers either, it’s middle-aged people in their Audis or Jaguars who live around here and know the roads.

“The speed limit is 30mph but you need to be doing 20-25mph because often you meet tractors or agricultural machinery coming the other way.

“People are driving too fast, it’s almost like motor racing for some of them.”

Mr Coxhill said he wants to see more enforcement and proactive policing to tackle the problem on rural roads.

He said: “We used to have a speed camera car but I have not seen that in a long time. I would like to see some proactive policing in catching and slowing down speeding motorists.

“It’s easily done, but if there’s no deterrent, then the behaviour just becomes normal.”

Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said: “Sadly there are too many deaths on our roads, with three in a matter of days this month.

“My thoughts are with the families and friends of everyone affected by these tragedies.

“Keeping our roads safe is a top priority for us here in Suffolk. While many police forces are cutting their traffic police, Suffolk is one of only two constabularies to invest in this area.

“Over the past year extra roads policing resources have been introduced in the west of the county and additional mobile speed cameras too.

“Keeping ourselves safe is a responsibility of all road users and I would also implore everyone to take care, especially on our rural roads.”