POLICE in Wotton-under-Edge are urging residents to curb their speed while driving or risk ending up with a heavy fine or penalty points on their licence.

The plea comes after residents of Gloucester Row, in Wotton, launched a campaign to reduce the speed of traffic travelling past their homes.

Police teams recently conducted a covert speed survey along Gloucester Row using a passive radar device, which took place over a period of seven days and sampled a total of 17,240 vehicles in both directions.

"The average speed of those vehicles was 32mph," said Sergeant Neil Gibbs of Dursley Safer Community Team.

"The 38mph figure which has been quoted by residents is a measure called the 85th percentile and simply means that 85 per cent of the vehicles sampled were travelling below 38mph.

"The residents' main concern is borne out of the fact that there is no footway along the road. To install a footway would mean the removal of their existing parking places along the road.

"The issue for police is to try to reduce overall speeds and reassure residents and to this aim we have been working with residents and conducting a series of operations using laser speed guns on the road.

"It is clear from police observations that most of the motorists who exceed the limit and cause danger on this road are in fact local residents.

"We would urge them to reduce their speed unless they want to find themselves with a heavy fine and penalty points on their licences."