A VAN driver mounted the pavement of a busy residential street in Peebles, smashing through two pencil bollards without stopping, say police.

A resident in South Parks was shocked after the white transit crashed into the safety bollards, showering the front window of his home with debris.

Paul Scrimger is calling for traffic calming to be implemented on the busy road.

He said: “Given the state of the pencils, it’s obvious the van was not travelling at 20mph. If the 20mph speed limit is not to be policed here, then what is the purpose?”

The homeowner has also asked Scottish Borders Council to remove the damaged metal pencils outside of his house, adding: “I do not want one of these flying through my window the next time there is a traffic incident.

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“They also have no reflective strips and from the way they crumpled are not fit for purpose.

“Caledonian Road and South Parks are not fit for the volume of vehicles.

“They are not fit for large industrial vehicles, and there is a speeding issue on both, and these factors are creating a threat to life.”

Calls are now being made for SBC to introduce “proper road traffic calming measures” at Caledonian Road and South Parks, which will force vehicles to reduce their speeds to 20mph.

Mr Scrimger says there needs to be a rethink on traffic calming as the current measures don’t work and there has been a number of near misses.

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He added: “The biggest issue is the HGV lorries.

“They speed and are too great in size for this road, they need removed or restricted.”

A Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said: “The council has worked with Peebles Community Council and the residents of South Parks to devise a proportional, justifiable and balanced response to concerns relating to traffic in this area.

“South Parks has had vehicle monitoring conducted in a location that was agreed with the concerned residents and the average vehicle speeds were 22mph when the speed limit was 30mph and these have reduced to 19mph since the introduction of the 20mph trial.

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“These speeds would be widely welcomed elsewhere.

“The build outs are to assist pedestrians crossing the road as speed bumps were considered and discounted due to the low vehicle speeds and due to concerns over the noise these would generate in a residential area.

“Developer contributions have been collected in relation to this development. These are for specific purposes and cannot be used for anything other than the stated purpose.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received a report of bollards on South Parks in Peebles having been struck by a vehicle which failed to stop around 9.30pm on Tuesday, October 12. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.”