Community Speed Watch teams to return to Wiltshire's roads at end of March

Wiltshire's Community Speed Watch scheme is set to return on March 29th.

Set up in 2012 there are more than 120 teams across the county and more than 1,000 volunteers who help to monitor speeding traffic.

Currently those breaking the speed limit are sent a letter warning them to slow down but the scheme will now have new powers.

A Community Speed watch Enforcement Officer has been appointed as part of a £70,000 investment by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and Wiltshire Police.

The officer will work alongside volunteers to record the speed of drivers at locations where speeding is an issue using a brand new bit of kit.

Depending on the severity of the offence, those caught breaking the limit could be summonsed to court or offered a driver improvement course.

Head of Criminal Justice Paul Oatway said:

"This is an important role to support the Community Speed Watch schemes across the county."

"We have also invested in the latest, state of the art, road-side camera equipment and back office processes to swiftly deal with enforcement and improved the system to administer the large levels of intel that is coming into us from the volunteers."

"This new officer will be able to target the areas in the county with the highest level of offending and support the volunteers with enforcement."

"This has been received well by the volunteers and can only further enhance the work of Community Speed Watch and enforce speeding offences. "

"People speeding on the roads in Wiltshire is one of the main concerns of residents and we hope this investment will go some way in reassuring them that this is an issue we are taking seriously."

The appointment comes fresh off the back of a**** six-week crackdown on road safety which saw 168 Traffic Enforcement Reports were issued and more than 250 words of advice were issued to drivers by officers across the county.

• community speed watch
• Speeding