A VILLAGE council has purchased a speed gun in a bid to crack down on dangerous drivers.

Askam and Ireleth Parish Council has acquired a speeding gun to help stamp down on speeders racing through the village.

The police-recommended speed gun would help catch those driving over the speed limits and issue a letter to the motorist's address.

However, those caught speeding via a gun will not be sent a penalty fine.

A spokesman for Askam and Ireleth Parish Council said: "We've been very concerned for a while about traffic speeding through the village, especially because there is a school at the top of the road.

"To help tackle this, we set up a speed awareness group, which gained full support from the police. A number of councillors underwent some training and lent a speed gun from the police and realised the difference it makes.

"Within five minutes of us being out, traffic begins slowing down and it does have a calming measure, so we decided to purchase our own.

"We're not trying to catch people out, we just want people to respect the village.

"We can't issue a penalty notice and that's not what we want to do - we just want people to be aware of the speed limits and show some respect for the village.

"We're hoping having our own speed gun will be a good deterrent against speeders because it is an issue in the village.

"We don't want to inflict other measures like speed bumps because that takes away element of village, we just want respect from drivers."