A CAMPAIGN has been stepped up to crack down on car cruisers on a notorious Hampshire dual carriageway.

Road bosses have been accused of not doing enough to end the problem of speeding along Tollbar Way in Hedge End.

Hampshire County Council is considering the trial of CCTV along Tollbar Way but leader of Eastleigh Borough Council, Keith House wants more.

He is calling for anti-skid surfacing and speed cameras.

Gangs of racers use the dual carriageway as if it were a Grand Prix track, racing relentlessly up and down, at speeds exceeding 60mph, until the early hours of the morning.

With industrial business parks used as meeting points, Tollbar Way has proved a great attraction for speed chasers and Cruise Clubs'.

Jonathan Springall, 24, died in May last year after flipping his BMW car into the air when he hit a kerb at 74mph in the 40mph zone. He had gone with friends to a car cruise' at the McDonald's restaurant.

Yet the county's road safety bosses have rejected calls from Eastleigh Borough Council and multi-agency group PRIME for more safety measures along the stretch of road.

The installation of anti-skid surfacing to prevent fish tailing' manoeuvres around roundabouts reached a dead end due to lack of funding.

The county council could not support the introduction of speed cameras given the low accident record in that area.

Cllr House said: "The police and borough council have worked incredibly hard to reduce dangerous driving on and around Tollbar Way.

"It is a major concern to residents right the way across Hedge End and West End. It is very frustrating for all this work to go in and then find that the county council will not act to support repeating a tough message to dangerous drivers."

Last August Hampshire Police stepped up their crackdown on speeding motorists after undercover officers captured drivers racing each other while hundreds of spectators looked on.

Using a video camera, officers from the Road Policing Unit caught motorists using Tollbar Way as a racetrack, even filming an articulated lorry taking part and a motorcyclist performing dangerous high-speed stunts.

As a result ten people were convicted of serious driving offences related to car cruising.

Councillor Mel Kendal, the county council's executive member for the environment, said that the council was aware of the problem and had already introduced a number of measures.

He said: "In addition, we've been in discussion with the Hedge End PRIME group regarding the possible introduction of CCTV cameras within the area to assist the police in monitoring the activities, as this is also an enforcement issue."