A PARISH council has resorted to buying a speed gun to tackle foot-to-the-floor motorists passing through their South Lakeland village.

Preston Richard Parish Council has announced the launch of Community Speed Watch targeting vehicles speeding through Endmoor.

Parish council clerk Ann Park said: “For quite a number of years we’ve been complaining to the police about speeding traffic.

“We were approached by the police for the speed watch programme, and they issued us with a speed gun and have trained 15 volunteers to use it.”

She added that the speed limit is 30 mph through Endmoor and 40mph at Crooklands, but vehicles often drive at 40mph and 50 mph.

Forty-five cars were caught speeding on Sunday April 27, and across the seven monitoring sessions that have been carried out since, one car every three minutes is found to be breaking the law.

However, while the speed gun catches cars speeding and records their registration plate, drivers are not issued with a penalty.

Volunteers will use the authorised laser speed detection device at various locations in the village on random days and times to find out when and where speeding is most commonly happening.

Police Support Volunteer Michael Roberts, co-ordinating the Community Speed Watch programme, said: “Volunteers) send me the details of the speeding motorists and I look them up and send a letter advising speeding drivers of the offence.

“In time we will start to build up a picture of repeat motorists or hot spots and at that stage I will ask for the road police or the camera van to come along”

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Mr Roberts added that this was the first speed watch programme in South Lakeland but it is hoped that it will expand, with the communities of Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale showing an interest.

Volunteer Glenn Smithers, of Endmoor, said: “We just want people to slow down and we don’t mind how they do it.

“They are going to build 125 houses here and there will be even more cars.”

For more information of how to get involved with the programme email Ann Park on clerk@prestonrichard.co.uk