A GROUP of village residents concerned about speeding cars in their community have become the 200th Community Speedwatch group to be set up in Devon and Cornwall.

The residents of Dolton near Winkleigh in Devon had ambitions to transform the village into a 20mph zone after years of drivers travelling too fast through their rural community.

As a first step, local Colin Jones decided to set up a Community Speedwatch (CSW) group with Devon & Cornwall Police to allow residents to monitor the speed of the traffic on some of their problem roads. Registered keepers of vehicles exceeding the speed limit are contacted - initially with a letter explaining the potential risks and consequences of their dangerous behaviour. Repeat offenders will receive a visit from the local police, irrespective of where they live. Beyond these friendly gestures, focused enforcement and criminal prosecution follow, based on the collated evidence.

Colin, who coordinates the Dolton Winkleigh CSW group, said he and his five group members have already seen positive results. He said: “We feel we are here mostly to slow traffic down – and we’ve already noticed that people are driving slower through the village. We plan to pop up in different locations at different times so people won’t really know when we’re here. It was simple to register as a new group – we just went to the Community Speedwatch website and submitted our details. Then a member of Devon & Cornwall Police made contact with us who trained us to use the equipment and helped us set the group up. It was a surprise to hear that we were the 200th group in Devon and Cornwall, but it’s something we’re quite proud of. There are even more groups now and we’ve had a lot of interest from neighbouring towns and villages who want to find out more.”

The group is often joined by Dave Burrows, one of several Speed Detection Officers with Devon & Cornwall Police, who uses his Home Office approved speed camera to enforce any speeding vehicles, said: “I help many CSW groups in Devon by joining up with them to carry out enforcement checks. This demonstrates that it’s not just the volunteers who come out to help make their communities safer, but offenders can actually be detected by myself and end up with a fine, penalty points or a driver training course. It’s really rewarding to have our 200th CSW group. I’ve helped set up around 100 of those groups and have met some lovely people – all of whom give up their time to come out and help make their communities safer.”

For more information about Community Speedwatch, or to set up a new group, visit www.communityspeedwatch.org.