Up to eight weeks of roadworks are set to begin on the A66.

Highways England will begin a £390,000 scheme to improve safety on the single-carriageway road at Thornthwaite, near Keswick, on Monday.

The Keswick-bound lane will be widened for the installation of a dedicated filter lane for traffic turning right into the village.

A similar safety improvement had already been made at the Braithwaite junction a few hundred metres south.

Temporary traffic lights will be in place between 8.30am and 5pm daily, with surfacing work taking place overnight between 7pm and 6am.

The work is due to be completed before Christmas.

Highways England project manager William Paterson said: “Delivery of the scheme will involve some short term disruption but provide a long term benefit for road users turning right into Braithwaite and Thornthwaite.”

The improvement is backed by Above Derwent parish council.

The area recently benefited from a £300,000 project to add nearly a kilometre of cycle track along the A66 between Braithwaite and Thornthwaite villages.

Meanwhile, a contraflow on the nearby dual carriageway alongside Bassenthwaite Lake will remain in place until the end of November.

The restriction, with a 50mph speed limit, has been in place since earlier this month to allow the Forestry Commission to carry out tree management work.