A COMMUNITY leader has pledged more than £1,000 towards signs designed to stop speeding drivers in their tracks after a series of complaints were lodged by North Baddesley residents.

Cllr Alan Dowden, who represents the Baddesley ward on Hampshire County Council (HCC), offered North Baddesley Parish Council £1,500 to help buy two speed limiters, which could cost £7,000, after residents complained vehicles were speeding down Rownhams Lane, Rownhams Road, Middle Road, and Firgrove Road.

This comes as one in six (18 percent) drivers admitted to speeding above 100mph, according to a new survey by road safety charity Brake.

The figure rises to 33 per cent for those aged 25-34 and to 28 per cent for male drivers, the poll of 2,000 UK motorists commissioned by the charity indicated.

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Cllr Dowden, who has donated the money from his County Council Community Grant Scheme, believes the speeding signs will help prevent accidents happening in the village.

This comes after a schoolboy was left battered and bruised in September 2019 when he was knocked off his bike by a car turning from Botley Road into Rownhams Lane.

Cllr Dowden said: "Sometimes people forget they are speeding and some people are just, well, daft.

"What people have got to realise is if you're going 35mph in a 30 zone and you hit someone that could seriously hurt them and anything over that speed could kill them."

Hampshire Chronicle: Cllr Alan DowdenCllr Alan Dowden

He added: "The speed limiting devices could cost £7,000, including the brackets to secure them onto street lights, because it isn't good to leave them in the same spot as people get complacent when they see them all the time.

"If they are moved around every four to six weeks it will have much more of an impact because it means different areas in North Baddesley can be monitored and it startles people when they see the sign flashing 'slow down' at them.

"They have helped a great deal in Valley Park, so if the [North Baddesley] parish council apply for a grant from the county council, and are prepared to finance the devices, then they could be up and running certainly by January."

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Cllr Alan Warnes, who represents North Baddesley on Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC), said he welcomed Cllr Dowden's grant, adding he hopes the devices make drivers think before they speed.

He said: "I fully thank Cllr Dowden for his support, I think it will have a positive impact on residents' safety and I hope it makes drivers think about what speed they are doing."

Hampshire Chronicle: Cllr Alan WarnesCllr Alan Warnes