30mph sign painted on Devon house

23/11/11

By Dan Smith

In order to slow the pace of fast-moving traffic outside his home, a householder in Devon has taken drastic action to raise awareness of the local speed limit.

Bow resident Tim Backhouse decided to paint a 15ft 30mph sign on the side of his property to encourage drivers to reduce their speed along the A3072.

Due to their failure to stick within the 30mph speed limit, Mr Backhouse believes local people can find it tough to cross the road and access the village shop.

He told the BBC: "There's no safe crossing point, the pavement runs out near a corner and it would be just about OK if vehicles did do 30mph, but they don't."

He added: "Since we moved to the village two years ago, we've witnessed a few instances where people have almost been hit by vehicles."

Despite Mr Backhouse's scheme, figures from Devon County Council suggest that an average speed of 27.2mph was recorded along the road by its own speed checks.