RESIDENTS are urging police to review road safety measures in their Gwent village following a second fatal crash in five years.

A man from the Chepstow area died after the car he was driving collided with the front garden wall of a house on the A48 Pwllmeyric Road at 8.50pm on Tuesday.

He was named by police as John Edwards, aged 21. In an earlier statement police wrongly gave his age as 33.

In the incident one of the car's front tyres flew through the front door of the house, belonging to 77-year-old Barbara Gleed.

Mrs Gleed was not at home, but yesterday she said it was the second time in three years that a car has crashed into her wall.

Neighbour Marcus Harris said he heard a "huge bang". He said: "I rushed out after calling the police, it was a terrible mess - I could hardly recognise what it was.

"There was a man speaking to the driver and trying to keep him conscious as all the emergency services arrived. He had to be cut free from the wreckage."

The cause of Tuesday's crash is not yet known, but police yesterday confirmed it was the second road fatality in Pwllmeyric in the last five years.

It is not yet known whether speed was a factor in the crash, but residents told the Argus they have lobbied for road safety measures and speed cameras for a number of years.

"There has been a series of accidents over the years," said local resident and former Chepstow town councillor Wil Oliver.

"I have been campaigning for years for traffic-calming measures and a speed camera."

Barbara Fox, who runs Willowbrook House B&B opposite the scene of the crash, saw its aftermath.

"I understand there were people walking along that stretch of pavement to-wards the pub a few minutes before.

"If it had happened earlier they could have been wiped out," said Mrs Fox, 56, who has lived in the village for 30 years. She said residents wanted something done to make the road safer.

Councillors and residents met police on May 17 to discuss residents' concerns about road safety in the village.

Monmouthshire council's deputy leader and local councillor Graham Down yesterday branded the road an "accident black-spot", and questioned why so many police resources were used on the nearby A466, and not the A48.

He is calling for a 30 mph speed limit through the village, instead of the current 40mph limit.

A police spokeswoman said the A466 was a "key enforcement area", but confirmed assessments were being made about residents' concerns. A spokeswoman for the Safety Camera Partnership said the partnership would be discussing the issue with Gwent Police, and looking at the concerns raised by residents.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident to contact them on 01633 838111.