ESSEX Police has reminded residents of the benefits of community speed watch groups after meeting with a village parish council.

Braintree district officers were in Little Maplestead last Friday and met with parish chairman Bill Piper along with residents in the village.

The force spoke with Mr Piper and residents about concerns over various issues in the village.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “There was also an outstanding attendance of residents who all wanted to speak to police about the issues that were concerning them.

“By far the main concern was speeding through the village, so the officer conducted some speed checks with the parish council.

“The residents said they felt heard and listened to after.

“If you are concerned about speeding where you live and want to do something about it, there is a scheme called Community Speed Watch.”

The initiative is a traffic monitoring scheme delivered in communities by volunteers who feel passionately about road safety in their area.

The group volunteers monitor the speed of passing vehicles using a hand-held speed detection device.

Following this, they record details of any vehicles which are exceeding the speed limit by around 10 per cent.

These details are passed to the police, who will issue a letter to the vehicle owner.

Essex Police also use the intelligence provided by volunteers to highlight those communities that would benefit from additional police enforcement, based on evidence of poor levels of compliance.

This additional enforcement is primarily conducted by officers from the Casualty Reduction Section including its own team of Special Constables.

For more information on the scheme, visit saferessexroads.org/policecommunity/community-speed-watch.

If you are interested in forming or joining a Community Speed Watch group, email community.speedwatch@essex-fire.gov.uk.