VILLAGERS have launched a community speed watch to tackle speeding drivers.

Residents in Stanton will give their own time to man the speed watch and record the number plates of the vehicles found to be exceeding the limit.

Joanna Spicer, Suffolk County councillor for Blackbourn and chairman of the Suffolk Police Authority, helped fund the scheme with her locality budget, which was used to buy the Speedar gun and high-visibility jackets for volunteers.

“I am delighted that we have managed to launch this scheme in Stanton, where members of the public have continually raised the problem of speeding motorists as a key concern,” she said.

“Community Speed Watch enables members of the public to tackle this problem in a pro-active way, assisting the police by helping them to enforce the law.”

The volunteers will be trained to use detection equipment to monitor the speed of passing motorists and record the number plates of speeding vehicles.

The offending drivers will then be contacted by Suffolk Police and handed a written warning and advice.

If two written warnings are given, the driver’s details will be passed on to a roads policing officer.

“I hope that motorists in and around Stanton will recognise the efforts that the community is going to tackle this problem and that we see a marked reduction in this type of offence,” Mrs Spicer added.

There are more than 300 speed watch volunteers in Suffolk who monitor speeds at safe locations.