A PLEA for help has been issued by residents in Bere Alston, concerned about speeding traffic and children's safety in the village.

Bere Alston Tenants and Residents' Association wants Devon County highways officials to help them improve safety on the streets — but claims the village is being ignored.

Following two traffic accidents in the village, more than 50 people attended a public meeting in January to lobby the council for changes and a petition with more than 240 signatures has been raised.

But since January, officials have failed to attend subsequent meetings and have proved difficult to contact by phone, it is claimed.

Alan Carter, chairman of Bere Alston Tenants and Residents' Association, said he had repeatedly tried to speak to the county traffic engineer — but had no response.

Mr Carter said he was very concerned for the safety of pedestrians, particularly children, in Bere Alston.

He said: 'I know some people are frightened to walk with their kids down Broad Park Road. There are no pavements there and it is a dangerous road.

'There should be some speed signs. They don't cost a lot, they're not going to break the bank.

'There's also a very narrow part down Tap Hill and one of these days, someone is going to get crushed down there. All that wants is a priority sign.

'We're not asking for a bypass or anything like that, just signs to make it safer.'

Following January's meeting, Bere Alston resident Margaret Cunningham met Devon County highways officers in February to point out the problems.

Mrs Cunningham said: 'Myself and two others walked around on a very wet Monday morning just to highlight things that could be done, but there's been no feedback from them at all.

'They didn't take notes or have a dictaphone — we just feel let down really.

'We just want some interest from the people who could help us.'

Mrs Cunningham said there were many things that could be done to improve safety in Bere Alston, from improved signage and hedge trimming to extended railings outside the school.

'I just feel small things like this could make a difference to the safety of children walking to school,' said Mrs Cunningham, who hoped engineers would attend a further meeting being held on Monday at Bere Alston School.

Gretta Madigan, county councillor for the Bere Alston area, thought traffic problems in the village should be looked at in an holistic way, from the point of view of the whole community.

She said: 'We have been approached by different people at different times who have concerns on highways matters and inevitably if you do something in one place, it tends to push traffic somewhere else.'

Mike Parnell, the county's local services officer, blamed annual leave for difficulties in speaking to staff.

He said: 'We are certainly not trying to avoid anything. It's one of the items from the partnership committee we have to deal with this year, but we need a clear consensus from the community of what we need to do.

'We have looked at what people have talked about; the difficulty is we have three groups asking for different things — we are trying to get these things together.'

The meeting in Bere Alston School begins at 7pm — parish councillors, the police and officials from the highways department have been invited and any residents concerned about traffic issues in the village are urged to attend.