CONCERNS have been raised over the safety of a main commuter route after high temperatures caused the road surface to melt.

According to one motorist the B4058 at Rushmire Hill, which connects Dursley and Wotton-under-Edge, became like lava as temperatures in the county hit 26 degrees.

The road was resurfaced by Gloucestershire County Council earlier this month.

Mother-of-two Victoria Clark, who lives in Dursley, uses the road up to four times a day as she takes her two children to Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School.

She said: "It was like witnessing volcanic lava in action. The tarred surface on the left side of the road descending the hill was bubbling and oozing thick tar."

She added: "I’ve tried not to use it, especially going to Wotton when I’d be driving on the left going down the hill. I’m just really wary, it seems so dangerous."

Mrs Clark said she raised the alarm with the county council after hearing about a 43-year-old woman from Oxfordshire who was killed when her car crashed into a petrol station near Winchcombe. Local people there have claimed the road, which had also recently been resurfaced, had melted in the heat.

She said: "I’d been concerned about this for days as the temperature went up and then this article came on the news about this crash. That road had been resurfaced too and it spurred me on to get Highways to do something."

Gloucestershire County Council Highways have visited the B4058 and lain grit and dust to soak up some of the moisture, however, Mrs Clark claims this has made the road even more dangerous.

She said: "That seemed to make it more slippery. I am amazed at the council. They need to take steps to prevent an accident from happening or someone could get hurt."

Mrs Clark said she now questions the quality of the materials used by the local authority.

She said: "I was surprised they put no proper smooth top surface when they did the work. I don’t know if that’s a cost-cutting measure but surely it’s a safety concern."

Nigel Tomlinson, head of Gloucestershire Highways, said that during hot weather roads that had recently been surface dressed would not set properly.

He said: "We monitor every road that has been treated in the past few weeks and where we have found problems we’ve put up extra warning signs to make drivers aware of the change in road surface. "At the same time, we’re also using grit and dust to take some of the moisture off the road."