PARISH councillors and villagers are celebrating their success in stopping speeding drivers use their quiet village as a race track.

For many years a campaign group and councillors in Compton Bassett have been working to get the speed limit reduced from 60mph to 40mph, following a large number of complaints from residents about the speed at which people were driving through the village.

Now, thanks to a chunk of funding by the Calne Area Transport Group, warning signs have been put up half a mile from the entrance of the village on Compton Bassett Road, from the direction of the A3102.

Locals say drivers use Compton Bassett as a short cut to the A4 and rarely stick to the speed limit, and the new 40mph signs are now part of a traffic calming scheme.

They act to reduce speed over a one-and-a-half-mile distance before the village becomes a 30pmh zone.

Fran Creasey, from Compton Bassett, is the speed watch coordinator for the village and manages a group of community volunteers who assist Wiltshire Police to monitor and control traffic in the area.

She said: “As soon as the new signs went up we noticed an immediate difference in the attitude of drivers, as they find themselves entering the new 40mph zone before coming into the 30mph section of the village.

“The new signs seem to act as a traffic calming measure and we estimate there has been a 40 per cent improvement in drivers sticking to the speed limits as vehicles pass through the village at busy periods, obeying the limits.”

“We would rather that drivers don’t use Compton Bassett as a short cut at all but if they have to drive through the village, at least they aren’t treating it as a race track as before. It’s not a perfect solution but it is a start and we are very grateful.”

Compton Bassett Parish Councillor, Julian Barlow, said: “The parish council first contacted stakeholders over two years ago, but specifically over the past 12 months a pro-active approach was adopted and following lobbying, it was agreed that over 70 per cent of funding would be from the Calne Area Transport Group.

“Previously the village would have had to pay the majority of costs themselves, so by working with the CATG we have reached a positive outcome and saved the villagers the costs of the signs and reduced the number of speeding vehicles.

“We are very grateful to Councillor Christine Crisp who helped greatly.”