Village's knitted speed trap 'fooling drivers'

A group of villagers have turned to an unusual method to tackle speeding traffic, creating knitted roadside characters that they say are successfully slowing drivers down.

Members of the Fillongley Knit and Natter group have dotted knitted mannequins around the Warwickshire village in an effort to encourage motorists to take more care on local roads.

Among the creations are knitted children carrying road safety messages, zebras perched above crossing signs and an RAF character holding a knitted speed gun.

The displays were introduced amid ongoing concerns about road safety, particularly around a busy crossroads in the village that residents say has a history of accidents.

According to Warwickshire County Council, 11 road traffic collisions have been recorded at the junction during the past four years.

But while the knitted figures have attracted smiles from passers-by, one of the group's most popular creations has now disappeared.

Heather Badham, parish clerk and a member of the knit and natter group, said the RAF character had apparently been stolen.

Made in honour of the father of one of the knitters, who served in the RAF during World War Two, the mannequin stood beside the road wearing a knitted high-vis vest and carrying a knitted speed gun.

"Someone's stolen it between 07:10 and 08:05 and I'm gutted for the ladies that knitted that, because of the amount of work that went into it," Badham said.

She said the group was shocked when it discovered the character was missing.

"This is a piece of village heritage and it's just been taken by somebody."

The knitted campaign began after residents became frustrated by how long it was taking for a permanent solution to road safety concerns to be agreed.

Warwickshire County Council approved proposals for traffic lights at the crossroads earlier this year, but some residents have raised concerns about the plans and argue alternatives such as average-speed cameras should be considered.

The authority said it was drawing up a range of possible safety improvements for the junction and was awaiting confirmation from HS2 on funding for an alternative scheme.

Badham said the knitted figures were not intended as a replacement for official measures, but as a way of drawing attention to the issue.

She believed they were having an effect.

"People are chuckling as they walk down the road and they can see brake lights coming on as people approach the RAF man with his camera because it fools people," she said.

"They think it's an actual speed camera and they slow down."

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said Fillongley remained one of the county's collision hotspots and acknowledged concerns about road safety in the village.

Meanwhile, members of the knit and natter group are considering whether their missing RAF character should be replaced, while reporting its disappearance to police.

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