MOTORISTS are being asked to watch their speed outside a West Devon primary school as local councillors have said it is an ‘accident waiting to happen’.

For approximately three years, Lewdown Group Parish Council has been campaigning for the speed limit to change from 40mph to 20mph during school hours.

In the wake of a road traffic accident outside Lew Trenchard Primary School last year, councillors and teachers have been lobbying Devon County Council to implement a speed restriction.

Cllr Colin Dunn, chair of the council, which is made up of Lewtrenchard, Marystowe, Thrustleton and Coryton parish councils, said: ‘We are aware of speeding vehicles that do not stick to the speed limit — the parish council feels this is an accident waiting to happen.

‘People have been seen doing U-turns on the crossroads and even unloading their children on the road.’

Devon County Council reviewed the area and put in double yellow lines a couple of weeks ago on the junctions of the school which stops drivers’ view from being restricted by parked cars.

And last Thursday (November 29), officers from Tavistock response team C conducted speed checks outside the school.

Police officers found that motorists — some of which were parents of pupils at the school — were driving at excessive speed. A total of 35 drivers were seen driving over 45mph; five over 50mph and 18 people were stopped and given words of advice. These findings will be passed onto Highways at DCC for review.

In the meantime, the parish council said it was now working with Sally Powell, headteacher from Lew Trenchard Primary School, to purchase and install two ‘wig wag’ signs.

Costing a few thousand pounds each to purchase, the wig wags don’t judge speed, they simply flash the suggested 20mph speed limit as a car approaches the school during school hours in the hope it will prove effective and slow down motorists.

Head of school Sally Powell said: ‘We have had controversy about the speed that cars are driving past for several years.

‘We have had double yellow lines put on our junctions and several attempts to get assistance to the issue.

‘Parking and speeding together is such a danger and visibility is poor.

‘The main focus is on the safety of the young pupils before something bad happens.’