Volunteers are set to do battle with speeding motorists

Villagers band together in new A28 campaign

Villagers have banded together in a renewed bid to crack down on drivers who speed through Tenterden.

St Michaels councillor Ken Mulholland has a nine-strong team of volunteers who will be operating Speedwatch on the busy A28, using a speed indicator device (SID) to monitor traffic.

He said: “The A28 can be a bit of a racetrack at times and drivers tend to put their foot down, especially when coming out of Tenterden when they reach the Fat Ox pub.”

The scheme was set up a few years ago but a lack of volunteers meant it fell by the wayside.

Cllr Mulholland said: “Speedwatch wasn’t very successful when we first tried to get it up and running in Tenterden, mainly due to a lack of volunteers. but interest has been been re-kindled.

The group is undergoing training and will begin monitoring on the A28 in the next few weeks. Previously Speedwatch members had been stationed at Fat Ox green, but Cllr Mulholland said around six possible sites are being reviewed in conjunction with police and highways, with the location yet to be confirmed.

Tenterden town council owns the SID device, which has recently been used to monitor drivers in Woodchurch.

News of the relaunch comes after a Speedwatch group in Staplehurst, run by the town council, clocked a shocking 133,000 vehicles exceeding the speed limit in the space of one week.

Almost 50% of drivers travelling through the village were recorded breaking the speed limit last November, 162 of which were caught doing more than 70mph in zones that were either 30 or 40mph.

It led to a spokesman for road safety charity Brake to condemn the speeding drivers, calling the figures “quite simply astounding”.

The spokesman added: “It is incredibly concerning to see so many speeding drivers putting not only themselves, but all other road users, at serious risk.

“At Brake, we see every day the devastating impact road crashes caused by speeding have on families and communities across the country.”

Tenterden Cycle Club member Ian McCormick is taking on the role of scheme co-ordinator.

Cllr Mulholland said: “I’ve picked up that residents are unhappy about the numbers of drivers speeding through Tenterden in my role as a councillor and the time is right for a relaunch.”

‘The A28 can be a bit of a racetrack at times and drivers tend to put their foot down, especially when coming out of Tenterden...’