A Norfolk road that has seen the death of a teenager amid a spate of recent crashes is one of the top ten in the country that would benefit from investment, according to transport experts.

Front seat passenger Ellie Tweed, 18, died after a crash on the A47 at North Burlingham at 5am on November 1, with four others hospitalised.

More recently, the road was the site of another crash on Friday involving a deer and another on November 10 in which two vehicles collided near the South Walsham Road junction.

And a report released today by the RAC Foundation hitting out at cuts in government transport spending has pointed to the route as one that would offer benefits of more than �6 for every pound invested.

The report highlights the cost of investment of the A47 between Blofield and North Burlingham as being �26m.

It is in the top ten of 96 such schemes that are 'currently sitting on the Department for Transport's shelves', according the RAC Foundation.

The organisation's director Professor Stephen Glaister said: 'There needs to be a fundamental look at how the strategic and main roads are planned, developed, funded, operated and maintained; how the traffic that uses the road network is managed; and how that use is paid for.

'In the meantime there are scores of relatively small-scale road improvement schemes which could be implemented as part of the growth agenda. They would deliver big benefits to significant numbers of people and businesses.

'We are not advocating a massive road building programme - we know we cannot build our way out of the nation's forecast traffic problems, nor would we want to afford to.

'But what we do need from Government is a clear long-term strategy. The Government's own forecasts just cannot be ignored.'

There will be at least four million more cars on the UK's roads in the next 25 years as the population increases by more than 10 million, the report said.

Traffic volumes are set to go up by 43pc by 2035, with the biggest surge coming in the East Midlands and average delays over the next 25 years will rise by 54pc.

Roads minister Mike Penning said: 'We know that keeping traffic moving is vital to securing the UK's prosperity, which is why we have set out a long-term strategy to tackle congestion and make better use of the road network.

'This includes a planned programme of major investment to increase capacity as well as working with the police and local authorities to reduce the disruption caused by accidents and road works.