SPEEDING drivers could be foiled by residents wielding handheld speed cameras as part of a new scheme.

Community speed gun testing could come to Bolton, meaning concerned homeowners would be able to catch drivers going over the limit.

Farnworth ward councillor Jean Gillies says she has been ‘overrun’ with volunteers after asking Bolton Council for funding to buy a speed gun and begin training residents.

“We all have hotspots in our areas where things are bad,” she said.

“I’ve got plenty of volunteers to do it. We have ordered a speed gun and they will be trained to use a speed hand gun in these areas.”

Training for the Farnworth community speed watch scheme has yet to begin, although similar projects are already in place in other areas across the country.

It works by having volunteers use hand-held devices that tell them the speed at which drivers are travelling through their ‘patch’.

When a driver is going a set amount above the speed limit – typically around 10% – the vehicle’s registration, make, model and colour are recorded by the gun.

A list of the offenders’ details is then passed to the local police force, who are likely to also add them to a national database.

These schemes are mainly about education, meaning no speeding tickets will be issued.

Additionally, most schemes use equipment that is not of the correct specification, so issuing a penalty would not be possible legally.

The schemes allow residents to highlight areas with repeated problems in their neighbourhoods and work with the police to reduce speeding through enforcement or permanent cameras.

In some areas, repeat offenders who have been highlighted to the police on a number of occasions are put under investigation or contacted with information regarding local speeding restrictions.