RESIDENTS in West Linton have been handed a solution to make motorists ‘stick’ to the speed limit.

Locals have been driven round the bend for several months by  vehicles breaking the 30mph restrictions along the A702, a major trunk road which cuts the village in two.

To combat the problem, West Linton Community Council has distributed 30mph stickers to residents who live along the road to apply to their wheelie bins. 

Some 20mph signs were also distributed to the houses around the primary school.

It is hoped the initiative will raise awareness of the speed limits across the area and help improve the attitude and behaviour of drivers, making the roads safer for pedestrians. 

The idea came from community council secretary Graham Tulloch after a conversation he had with a police officer about the success of a similar project in Stow.

Mr Tulloch said: “I took the idea to the community council who unanimously agreed to purchase stickers and within two weeks from the conversation with the police, they were on the bins. 

“Stickers have only just been placed on the bins and so drivers have only been exposed to them for a few days, however, anecdotally, there has been a reduction in traffic speed.

“The school crossing patrol and members of the public reported an apparent reduction in traffic speed and that drivers have applied their brakes when they came within viewing distance of the bins.

“That is one of the fastest results I have experienced from the community council. That shows the level of concern we have on the speed of traffic in the village, and the level of uptake by residents, almost 100 per cent, also indicates the degree of concern from them.

“Any reduction we can bring about is good and, as this is a relatively low cost initiative – although it has taken a reasonable amount of money from the community council budget – undertaken by local people for the benefit of the village as a whole, we were keen to get it up and running as quickly as possible. 

“The response from the community as a whole has been positive, with some asking for the scheme to be extended into their streets. The community council has said it will look at these requests.”