MIDDLEWICH residents have joined up with the town’s PCSO to help catch speed merchants on three notoriously fast roads. 

The new Neighbourhood Speed Watch has formed in the town in an effort to stop excessive speeding on Warmingham Lane, Booth Lane and Croxton Lane.

The group will go out in pairs using a speed gun and will pass on the details of any cars caught speeding to Cheshire Police.

Jonathan Parry, a resident of Warmingham Lane who was one of the first to get involved, said: “At the end of the day the PCSO here is here to support the community and we can’t expect miracles to happen by him doing everything, we have got to support him and help our own community ourselves. 

“The speed watch is a fantastic idea that has worked in other areas. What we did notice when we went out is that just our presence was slowing people down so I’d be happy if we went out and caught nobody even if it’s just slowing people down for an hour. 

“When we went out the first time we caught six people just in one hour and one of them was going 49 mph. I think that just shows how fast people go on a road like Warmingham Lane. 

“We’re hoping that the town council invest in a speed gun for Middlewich, which costs about £200, because at the minute we’re borrowing it from Crewe. That means that one day it could be in Holmes Chapel and in Sandbach another.

"I do most of my work in the evenings so I’d love to go out and do my bit with the speed gun most days but it’s just not available because we have to share it with other towns.”

PCSO Dave Jinks is leading the Neighbourhood Speed Watch and explained the process of what happens after the group catches a vehicle breaking the speeding limit. 

PCSO Jinks said: “The speed watch team will be recording vehicles that are travelling more than 36 mph on a 30 mph road, then the drivers will then be sent a letter from the Cheshire Police to inform them that they’ve been seen exceeding the speed limit on a particular road. 

“The vehicle registration will be entered onto a database by an officer at Crewe Police Station and if it comes up as three hits then they will get a visit from a local officer. 

“If and when there is a high level of speeding vehicles then the traffic Police will be informed and tickets will be given out to the drivers.”

If you want to volunteer or find out more about the speed watch, go to the group meeting at the Boars Head on Thursday, September 3, at 7.30pm.