A MAJOR road through the North-East has been described as a rust belt which holds back the region and leaves communities along its route neglected. Four MPs have called for action to improve the state of the A68, which runs from Darlington to Edinburgh via County Durham and Northumberland. Richard Holden, Dehenna Davison, Paul Howell and Peter Gibson – MPs for North West Durham, Bishop Auckland, Sedgefield and Darlington respectively – say it is time to deliver improvements to the road which were mooted back in 1951. They have asked for a meeting with Roads Minister Baroness Vere to make their case for works to the A68, along with a Northern bypass for Darlington.