MOTORISTS driving through Wedmore could soon be met by a speed visor, as village leaders try to crack down on speeding.

MOTORISTS driving through Wedmore could soon be met by a speed visor, as village leaders try to crack down on speeding.

Parish councillors in the Somerset village are hoping to use a speed visor, which can either flash up the legal speed or tell drivers the actual speed they are travelling, to slow down cars.

For about £750 per year the council will be allowed to 'rent' a speed visor from Somerset County Council and have one in the village for a fortnight every four months.

Chairman John Sanderson said: "We have had visors for a day or two in the past in Cheddar Road and by Wedmore First School in Blackford Road and they were both popular with residents.

"We have had some very positive feedback because they make people realise exactly how fast they are going."

The two roads are part of three main routes into the village and councillors have become increasingly concerned about the speed of traffic entering Wedmore.

The county council has four speed visors which they can 'rent' to villages for a nominal fee and the money covers things such as breakages.

For around £15,000 parish councils can buy a speed visor and help pay for it by loaning it to neighbouring parishes.

But county councillor David Huxtable warned members that Somerset County Council is against parish councils owning their own cameras but admitted he was not entirely sure why.

Cllr Sanderson said: "A few years ago a group of residents wanted to buy a camera but we were informed it wasn't practical. This is a compromise to not owning a camera.

"If we pay the £750 we will be sponsoring one to use in the parish."

At a parish council meeting last month, councillors voted to sponsor a speed visor and, if it proved successful after a year, consider buying a camera.