'Worst roundabout in Britain' is leaving motorists scratching their heads
A dodgy roundabout has been branded the 'worst in Britain' following a series of crashes caused by confused drivers.
There have been so many complaints about the dangerous spot, situated on one of Wales' busiest roads, government officials have promised to change it.
The site in question is situated at Croesbychan on the busy Head of the Valleys road as part of the Welsh government's scheme to create the Court Lodge Underbridge.
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A temporary roundabout was installed in May last year to replace a staggered t-junction while the new fly-through road is being built.
But motorists have said the road markings for the 'unmagic roundabout', as it's been described, are so unclear, many end up driving right through it.
Unsurprisingly, this has led to a series of accidents, including one on New Year's Eve involving a three-car pileup.
Angela Williams said she was travelling with her husband Kenneth, daughter Emma and her eight-year-old grandson Leeroy when their vehicle was crashed into.
The 62-year-old grandmother said it appeared the driver of the other car didn't see the roundabout as they did not slow down, leaving Leeroy with a head injury, a cut neck and whiplash.
"He's traumatised terribly," said Angela. "It's going to take him a while to get over this."
She's now calling for better lighting and markings at the site, saying the road was almost 'pitch black' at the time of the incident.
And Angela's not alone, as numerous people have taken to social media to complain about the spot after a string of 'near misses'.
One mum said: "Let’s hope we can get through the next eight weeks without there being a fatality.
"Every day there are near-misses and a lorry went straight through today leaving me in the middle of the roundabout.
"Will report it. I know my daughter and another car owner whose cars have been written off in last three weeks."
Another driver said: "I witnessed a very, very near miss yesterday. A car just kept driving through the roundabout as if there was no junction or roundabout visible."
The road works are being carried out by consortium Future Valleys, which says changes to the setup are tricky due to restricted space.
Councillors Karen Morgan and Adam Owain Rogers, who represent Hirwaun, Penderyn and Rhigos, issued a statement on the matter.
"We attended a meeting this morning with the contractors and again shared the many concerns we have received about incidents and near-misses," they said.
"Future Valleys stated that signage is adequate and they have recently installed extra lighting.
"They also explained the constraints to making any other changes to the roundabout (space being the main factor).
"If work progresses as planned there will be changes to the layout of the roundabout in the next six to eight weeks which hopefully will reduce the risk of drivers who treat it as a straight-through road."
A spokesperson for the Welsh government assured that the new layout will remove the roundabout's eastern arm and 'make it much more obvious there is a roundabout present to reduce the risk of drivers missing the give-way line'.
Daisy Phillipson