TRAFFIC calming is on the cards for a Bewdley estate under siege from "rat-running" drivers.

Worcestershire County Council will unveil the proposals for the Queensway estate at a public meeting next week after a survey of pupils and parents at Wribbenhall First School revealed fears over speeding cars.

And unlike the scheme proposed for west Bewdley on the other side of the river - which has divided opinion and sparked the town's first ever parish poll - the measures are likely to be welcomed by the majority of residents, according to Wribbenhall's Wyre Forest district councillor.

Ron White has long campaigned for something to be done about drivers taking short cuts across the estate to avoid the Catchems End junction, from which there is no right turn from Habberley Road to Kidderminster Road.

The scheme is proposed under the county council's "Safer Routes to School" initiative, similar to the controversial plans for streets around Cleobury Road.

At the height of the problems last year, when Catchems End was temporarily closed as part of a housing development off Habberley Road, a county council survey showed 4,000 vehicles passing through the estate a day - and nearly two-thirds of them were speeding.

Animosity flared between drivers and residents, who threatened to put a blockade across the road.

Although the problem has eased, the estate is still being used as a "rat-run" - and Mr White believes the feedback he received at two previous public meetings on the matter indicates a high level of public support for the new plan.

Humps, chicanes, protected parking and a 20mph speed limit outside the school are all under consideration.

Mr White said he would feel "some satisfaction" if the plans go ahead, adding: "The problem has always been people coming from Habberley Road not wanting to have to go back towards Kidderminster to go into Bewdley.

"At the two meetings I never heard anyone against traffic calming measures, although I'm not saying they aren't there.

"People were saying 'for God's sake, we have got to stop the traffic speeding'."

The proposals will be on display at Wribbenhall First School in Shaw Hedge Road between 3pm and 8pm on Wednesday, with experts on hand to answer questions.