The B3297 Helston to Redruth road has been included on a list of the ten most dangerous stretches of road in Cornwall for motorcyclists.

The winding and narrow B3297 made it onto the list in tenth place, behind roads including the A3047 from Camborne to Pool, the A39 from Falmouth to Truro and the B3292 between Penryn and Falmouth.

Discussing the list at a meeting last week, Helston town councillors said improvements to the B3297 had been promised when the town's railway line closed in the early 1960s. Apart from the stretch on the immediate outskirts of the town, nothing had been done to the road since then. An average of 20 motorcyclists die on the county's roads each year and it is hoped the list will help reduce the death toll, as well as providing information on why accidents occur in particular areas and how they can be prevented.

The county council's chief engineer, Peter Moore, said his department was working to reduce the number of accidents and it was hoped the list would help make roads in Cornwall safer for motorcyclists.

Bikers make up just one per cent of traffic on roads but account for 26 per cent of deaths and serious injuries in crashes on the county's roads.