CONCERNED Christchurch residents have been putting pen to paper to express their anxiety over the number of speeding drivers causing problems in the borough.

Residents in Avon Buildings, Bargates, have asked Christchurch Borough Council to fit 10mph speed limit signs as well as extra road markings in an attempt to slow down traffic.

They say they have been prompted to take action after a number of near misses involving children, and say drivers sometimes reach speeds of up to 40mph down the small narrow road, which has no pavements.

The petition also said that dog walkers and parents with pushchairs and young children in tow are particularly at risk, as the road is a popular route, which leads to the River Avon footpath.

And as well as the petition from the 22 residents living in Avon Buildings, another petition signed by 382 residents in Purewell and Stanpit was handed to the mayor of Christchurch, Cllr David Flagg, from resident and local Neighbourhood Watch member Barry Sherwin.

Mr Sherwin said: “The road is extremely narrow and the width is not much different than it was all those years ago in the age of the horse and cart.

“Today Stanpit, with its narrow road and extremely narrow pavement takes approximately 44,000 vehicles per week, and these vehicles are travelling much faster than the horse and cart the road was originally built for.

“The residents firmly believe that the introduction of a lower speed limit would greatly reduce the adverse effects of road traffic by controlling the speed and behaviour of traffic in this part of the borough.”

He added: “The residents accept that this submission has controversial connotations, especially with certain members of the go-faster brigade and the local boy racers’ society but these are the very people who are currently causing the problems.”

Both petitions will be forwarded to the council’s community services committee.