Eagle-eyed volunteers launch fresh speeding crackdown in Portsmouth

Two eagle-eyed Speedwatch groups in Cosham and Southsea have been struggling to operate for more than a year after vital kit stopped working.

Now the teams will be back on patrol keeping a watch on drivers breaking the 20mph limit across Portsmouth's residential streets.

Former bus driver Terry Bryant, 63, is delighted his four volunteers can enforce a crackdown.

He said: '˜Where I live it's a 20mph speed limit and since we have done it we can see the amount of cars slowing down.

'˜Since we stopped, although the the council have put in calming measures, we still see speeding cars coming down.'

Terry, co-ordinator for Cosham, has targeted Cheltenham Road in the past, while Suzy Horton, co-ordinator in Southsea and a ward councillor, has concerns about Francis Avenue.

Cllr Horton, whose scheme covers the roads between Devonshire Avenue and Albert Road, said: '˜My fellow ward councillors and I shared concerns over drivers speeding in our ward, especially in Francis Avenue.'

She added: '˜This new equipment means we can relaunch the two schemes. We are looking forward to supporting the community once again.'

Speedwatch volunteers record details of vehicles driving too fast and pass the information on to police.

Cllr Lynne Stagg, Portsmouth City Council's cabinet member for traffic, said. '˜Road safety is of huge importance to us so we are extremely grateful to all the speedwatch volunteers and all they do to keep the people of Portsmouth safe.

'˜Volunteers play an important role in providing data to the police, which can sometimes lead to more formal enforcement in problem areas.'

Volunteers are still needed. For more see hampshire.police.uk and search for Community Speedwatch. Alternatively call 101.'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹