Two Welsh mums trying to stop speeding drivers in their area have been subjected to abuse by motorists with one calling them "a f****** disgrace".
This hasn't put off Penny and Rhian who say they fear for their children's safety because of the relentless speeding drivers. Penny Hughes said she felt she needed to take action after watching drivers "fly past" her home in Dolwyddelan at dangerous speeds, despite the 30mph speed limit.
Penny claims drivers regularly break the legal limit on the stretch of the A470 which runs through the village, putting local residents at risk. "There was a motorbike crash right outside my house in the summer holidays and it's really frightening that somebody could knock our children down." Penny said.
"There are children who play on the drive and in the front garden where the crash happened and crushed the wall, so it's really worrying because cars just fly past. The road goes from a 60mph to 30 I just don't get why people feel the need to overtake in a 30, it's really dangerous.
"We can't have speed bumps because it's the A470 but we need something here to make it safer because it's really worrying as it is." She continued: "We do feel like we have been forgotten and something has to happen for the police to come out. After the motorbike crash they did come out about a week later but now they've stopped coming again."
North Wales Live reported that Penny and another local mum, Rhian, decided to take matters into their own hands and signed up for North Wales Police's Community Speed Watch Scheme to catch speeding drivers in the act. Armed with a speed gun, the pair clocked 17 drivers breaking the speed limit within their first two hours on the job.
Penny says she signed up to the volunteer scheme to keep the community safe, but their presence hasn't been well-received by everyone. She explained: "We've had people shout abuse at us from their cars as they go past.
"Some people just stare but we had one person shout "you're a f****** disgrace" as they drove past. But at the end of the day it's a problem for us who have kids and something needs to be done about it.
"We'd like more volunteers to sign up to help us because it's quite difficult with just the two of us. We're hoping that people will start to take notice and stop speeding because they know they'll get caught."
Community Speed Watch volunteers are given training and equipment by North Wales Police which allows them to monitor vehicle speeds and log the details with the police. To find out more, please visit the Community Speed Watch Scheme website.
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