SPEEDING traffic through a West Devon village is to be the focus of a fact-finding meeting later this summer, following fears raised at the recent parish council annual meeting.

Although Mary Tavy had new speed restrictions imposed recently, residents say they still fear the rate at which vehicles are driven through the village.

Cllr Pam Scannell, borough member for Mary Tavy said: ?I think we have to take the bull by the horns and really tackle this problem.

?There is major concern in the parish about speeding traffic and cars overtaking, it?s a serious problem.

?I would like to see the whole thing looked at as a complete traffic strategy plan ? it?s a big issue for the village.?

Cllr Scannell said the village was ?split in two? by the busy main road ? she felt there should be a crossing to help pedestrians, including children walking to school. She also felt there should be a pavement from the village to Blackdown, to make it safer for people to walk to the moors.

Anita Prosser, chairman of Mary Tavy Parish Council, said she found the speed of cars ?quite horrendous? at times ? and it was particularly dangerous for pedestrians in the areas without pavements.

?I don?t normally walk up or down that particular stretch of road, but I have done recently and you literally take your life in your hands. You get cars going up there at 30mph, then some idiot overtakes and they have to be doing at least 50mph. If I hadn?t have managed to squash into the hedge I wouldn?t be here now,? said Mrs Prosser.

She said the parish council favoured the idea of a speed camera to slow traffic down.

?This is a main arterial road, you do get lorries and things going up and down. Unfortunately, because the houses are set back from the road and there isn?t a pavement, people do get a false sense of security and think there aren?t going to be people walking around,? said Mrs Prosser.

?We would plump for speed cameras, quite honestly. If we had warning signs on that straight stretch, people would slow down and it would be a great help,? she said.

Mrs Prosser said the issue of traffic management through Mary Tavy would be the focus of a public meeting to be held in the village, probably in September, and she urged residents to come and air their views.

MPC Nigel Bishop, traffic management road safety officer, said there were ?very strict guidelines? concerning speed cameras and there would need to be a history of accidents in Mary Tavy before any such camera was installed.

He said police would carry out speed monitoring in the area if the council requested it, but said actual traffic speed often differed from perceived speed.

Paul Marshall, of Devon County?s highways department, said it was part of the council?s role to change ?travel behaviour? and promote more sustainable forms of transport such as walking or cycling.

He said a ?virtual footway? along the A386 in areas where there were no pavements could make walking safer for pedestrians and alert motorists to the fact that the road was used by walkers.

Mr Marshall hoped the community would get involved with the parish council in making their views known about traffic issues in the area ? the county would then get help to take any action plan forward.