Residents turned out in force at the launch of a new community road campaign in Sidbury.

Sidbury WI invited the whole village to a meeting about cars breaking the 20 and 30mph limits, urging drivers to ‘kill speed, not villagers’.

The group hopes to secure volunteers for a community speed watch group and also fund flashing speed-activated-signs at either end of the village.

The WI took action after one of its members raised her concerns about ‘whizzing cars’ flying past as she tried to cross the road.

Following the discussions on Wednesday, more than 30 residents signed up to become a member of the speed watch.

The elderly member told the meeting: “Not only am I speaking for myself, I’m speaking for parents trying to get children to cross the road; they shouldn’t have to scurry across the road with a car whizzing past their ears.

“I know I’m elderly and I know I’m slow but I do think I have the right to cross the road.”

Desley Jones, president of the WI, added: “It concerns everybody; for a long, long time we have got on our soap boxes about the speed in this village. It is dangerous, we have few pavements and we are concerned about everyone of every age.”

Sergeant Andy Squires told residents that officers would do what they could to help, from training volunteers for the speed watch, to enforcing Officer Seen Conditional Offer (OSCO) to drivers found breaking the speed limits.

The team is also looking to work with primary school pupils to send an ‘impactive’ message to speeding divers.

Data from a speed check carried out on Friday will be analysed to find a range of solutions that could include community speed watch, police enforcement, and in the most serious cases, traffic calming measures.

Sgt Squires said: “We will do what we can but we need a bit of participation as there are only a few of us.”

In addition, Councillor Stuart Hughes, head of highways at Devon County Council, has also paid for a new speed survey in the village and has invited the WI to discuss the figures once they have been analysed.