Villagers in Calverton fear it's only a matter of time before a child is 'wiped out' because of speeding on a 'catastrophic' road. 'Boy racers' have been blamed for reaching speeds of up to 60mph in Park Road, which runs past The William Lee Memorial Park which is also home to Calverton Village Hall and Calverton Skate Park.
Because of the excessive speeding on the 30mph stretch, people in the village fear an accident is waiting to happen when children cross the road to get to the park. Retired Dave Prince, 71, issued a warning.
He said: "It’s not just night-time, it can be during the day. There’s motorbikes, some going 50 or 60 [mph] and cars. Some kids come off the park and some of them don’t look, they can be wiped out easily.
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"It’s just going to get worse with all the new estates being built. It’s a worry. If my grandson comes, he is sensible but they could be knocked out when coming out here on scooters or skateboard.” The road is located near Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School and Colonel Frank Seely Academy.
Yoga teacher Beth Thomas, a 34-year-old mum-of-two who lives locally, said speeding was also a worry. She said: “It’s a long stretch for them to speed. Because of the schools and park, it’s not great. It’s just a worry.
"You try and teach the little ones to be careful with the roads.” Reports of 'boy racers' have surfaced in a community group on social media.
Calverton resident Gabrille Jones said some drivers tended to reach speeds of ‘50mph or 60mph’. The 28-year-old said: “This has been going since, well, for years. There’s the speeding, the parked cars, the park with the kids coming out. It’s a 30mph road and you can clock people going about 50 or 60mph. Wheel spins and exhaust pipes, it’s quite scary."
She added: “Obviously you’ve got the park which attracts young people, and across there there’s the village hall, there’s a lot of vulnerable people. A lot of people have got dogs, they’ve got to make sure you get the gate locked. It’s always been a constant thing. It’s catastrophic.”
In the past, Nottinghamshire Police have carried out speed checks in the village. Last year, in June, the force was out in Main Street trying to tackle speeding issues. And last year, MP Mark Spencer, who represents Sherwood for the Conservatives and is Leader of the House of Commons, spoke about how speeding motorists were causing 'misery' for villagers. The village continues to grow with hundreds of homes earmarked across different sites.
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