Boy racers 'treat Ludlow like a racetrack' with speeders caught at more than one a minute

Officers in Ludlow set up a speed trap on a problem stretch of the B4361 on the west side of the town, by the Ludford Bridge. They caught 77 speeding drivers in the space of an hour, with one racing through at 51mph in the 30mph zone.

Councillor Viv Parry was not shocked by the results of the speed enforcement operation, and said speeding is a problem at a number of locations in town including Temeside, Sheet Road, the eco park and Overton Road.

"We get young people racing through this town every single night," she said. "I've just come from Ludford Bridge and someone's knocked one of the bollards over. That'll be someone speeding, more than likely. It doesn't surprise me at all. It's just like a big race track to them. It's just ridiculous."

Further south along the B4361 at Richard's Castle, vehicle activated signs are due to be implemented to try and slow down speeding motorists.

"When the police officer came to our meeting last week, he didn't realise how bad it was," added Councillor Parry. She also recalled recent crashes in Weeping Cross Lane and Old Street, where motorists smashed into a wall and a parked car.

"You've got the garage at Overton Road there with about 20 cars. It's a matter of time before there's a big accident there.

"They (speeding motorists) need to take into consideration that they won't be able to stop. People living here don't want these boy racers racing round every single night."

A member of the speed enforcement police team that carried out the Ludford Bridge operation said: "We spent an hour there capturing speeders. The highest speed was 51 miles per hour in a 30 zone.

"Amazingly a total of 77 offenders were caught in an hour."