A PILOT scheme which allows the public to monitor speeding drivers in their community will be rolled out across North Yorkshire.

Community Speed Watch was launched last May in York, Harrogate and Selby, with members of parish councils and local residents trained to use electronic speed guns and measure the speed of drivers in their area.

Motorists caught travelling at over the legal limit will receive a notice from North Yorkshire Police to warn them about their driving, and further action can be taken against repeat offenders.

Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire said volunteers and residents can register their concerns online which will be assessed before training if carried out and said CSW was not enforcement, but education and information gathering "in addition to enforcement measures".

She said: "Speeding is one of the issues people raise with me most often, and until now, the police have not been geared up to respond as well as I would have liked.

"The beauty of Community Speed Watch is that it puts residents back in the driving seat. It enables them to influence speeding drivers - many of whom are locals - to slow down and consider impact on the communities they are driving through."

The scheme will be funded using money generated by people attending speed awareness courses, and Deputy Chief Constable Tim Madgwick said the project had improved the areas it had been trialled in.

Mr Madgwick, who is Chair of the 95 Alive Road Safety Partnership, said: "I’d like to thank those who engaged with us as part of the pilot and enabled us to realise the potential the scheme has to assist local people to clamp down on the blight of speeding through their towns and villages.

"Community Speed Watch will be incorporated as one part of the solution that North Yorkshire Police can deploy, alongside the safety camera vans, our Roads Policing Group and the proactive work we carry out with our partners at the 95 Alive Road Safety Partnership to combat speeding through residential areas."

Anyone interested in taking part or finding out more should go to northyorkshire.police.uk/reportspeedingconcern