THE police and crime commissioner chose a 'trailblazing' village near Worcester to announce plans to give more communities the power to tackle speeding.

West Mercia’s PCC John Campion attended Crowle yesterday to witness the Community Speed Watch team in action as he announced an immediate doubling of the kits available to monitor speeding.

Mr Campion said he chose to visit Crowle in particular because they were 'the trailblazers', the first Community Speed Watch group in West Mercia and showed the ability of local people to make a difference.

He announced the number of Muni Quip KG-P radar unit kits for monitoring speeds would double from 20 to 40 with immediate effect but will see if more are needed in future.

Although no fines or penalty points can be imposed as a result of breaking the 30mph limit by the Community Speed Watch Team, they can receive a letter from the Safer Roads Partnership, part of West Mercia Police and, if they persistently speed, they can receive a visit from an officer.

The idea is to educate drivers and change their attitudes and behaviour.

The PCC and community speed watch members were joined by West Mercia officers PC Tony Carter and Sgt Sarah Kent.

Mr Campion said speeding was a ‘quality of life issue’ for many communities and said he wanted Crowle to be ‘a safe, happy rural village’ and hoped the action of these communities would help change the behaviour of drivers.

He said: “I think they have really made a difference. I’m looking to empower our communities.

"I want to empower people within our communities to play a more active role in identifying and also tackling local issues.

"Speeding is an issue which is often highlighted in our towns and villages and where people want to take the lead in addressing these issues, then I want to help them."

Neil Gow of Crowle Community Speed Watch who helped set it up said they started monitoring speeds in May, 2014 and said drivers habits had improved since then.

He was manning the speed gun on Old Turnpike Road, measuring the speeds of drivers coming into and out of the village.

A few of the drivers clocked over the speed limit – one at 34mph and one at 35mph – but the fastest they have recorded was 52mph.

Lee Turner, a Crowle parish councillor, said: “The point is that everybody in the village is very pleased with seeing that we’re here, that were taking it seriously.

"We are listening. It shows that we are actively doing something that is worthwhile.”

They use eight different locations across the village to monitor people’s speed.

They also encountered a horse rider and a cyclist passing through the village which illustrates how it is not just drivers at risk, especially in rural areas.

One man in a white van, curious to know if he was speeding, wound his window down for a chat with the community speed watch but was within the limit at 28mph.

In Worcestershire Crowle, Eckington, Kemerton and Naunton Beauchamp all have Community Speed Watch groups.

In Herefordshire Eardisley, Marden, Peterstow and Wellington have community speed watch groups.