TWO pensioners in their 70s have been taken to hospital with serious injuries after a collision this lunchtime at an accident blackspot dubbed “the most dangerous junction in Wales”.

A Gwent Police spokesperson said: “We received a report of a road traffic collision on the A40 near Raglan around 12.10pm on Thursday, May 16.

“Officers attended along with personnel from the Welsh Ambulance Service, Welsh Air Ambulance and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

“The collision involved two cars: a Ford and a Jeep. The rear seat passengers of the Ford, a man and a woman in their seventies, have sustained potentially life-threatening injuries. The incident is ongoing.”

The A40 was closed on the eastbound carriageway following the collision, and was still shut at 6pm tonight while investigations continued.

Highway authorities recently reduced the speed limit on the stretch of road from 70mph to 50mph as part of a safety study, following calls for action on the blackspot by local campaigners.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said last October: “We are nearing completion of a safety study at the A40/Monmouth Road junction which will result in improvements for this section of the road.

“We are also implementing a temporary 50mph speed limit between the A449 and Raglan roundabout on the A40.”

The junction in the middle of the A40 from the westbound carriageway and heading across the eastbound road towards Mitchel Troy and Monmouth has long been slammed as dangerous by local people.

One lane westbound was also closed following the accident, and congestion was reported on Clytha Road, Raglan High Street and Groesenon Road.