Families of road crash victims have spoken out against a decision to delay a £40.5 million scheme to improve safety at an accident blackspot until at least 2011.

Planning officials yesterday announced that work on the A23 at the Handcross stretch would not start for five years or more, even though it has been waiting for an upgrade since the scheme was first mooted in the Nineties.

The A23's poor safety record - it was the scene of 20 deaths in 14 months up to July last year - was not enough to prioritise the work above the equally notorious blackspot on the A27 at Beddingham, near Lewes, which is still going ahead as planned.

A Regional Transport Board (RTB), which was formally set up in September 2005, was given responsibility for deciding on a start date for the project at Handcross.

Despite earmarking the scheme as one of six regional priorities, it decided work cannot start until 2011/2012 due to practical considerations, such as design, planning permission and an expected public enquiry, and a lack of funds.

No official start date was ever set for the work but The Argus reported in July last year that the Department of Transport had hoped work could begin by 2008.

Steve Mohabir, 37, from Godalming, Surrey, lost his two-year-old son Marcus in a horrific crash on the A23 near Pyecombe two years ago, and was injured himself. He said: "This delay is very disappointing.

"If another family loses a loved one in 2010 then will people tell them they wished the crash happened the following year because that's when the road improvements start?"

Gloria Marshall, from Crawley, whose son and daughter died in the crash near Pyecombe, said she was astounded it would take another five years to get started on the scheme.

She said: "The road has lots of twists, particularly northbound, and a lot of people try to overtake around these bends at fast speeds.

"Hopefully, widening that stretch will take out the twists and turns.

"We will also continue campaigning for a network of speed cameras along the road. There have been more traffic police on that stretch and I hope that is maintained."

Campaigners have been calling for improvements to the Handcross stretch for more than a decade. The A23 was due to be upgraded in the Nineties but the Government withdrew money for the scheme.

Helen Withers, 59, an office manager, has lived on the A23 at Handcross since 1978 and her driveway opens on to the busy road.

Her car was crumpled at both ends and she suffered whiplash in a collision with a lorry while she was trying to get into the drive.

She said: "This project has been talked about for so long. The reality is there is never any money because they will always find something more important to spend it on."