GAZETTE & HERALD: SPEEDING drivers racing though Lyneham last week were frowned at by two special signs, which have put the smiles back on the faces of villagers.

The signs on the B3102 lit up with an unhappy or a smiley face, depending on whether motorists were driving above or below the speed limit, and they also displayed the driver's speed.

Villagers campaigning to slow down traffic in the village were delighted by the temporary speeding signs, which were put up for just five days and revealed that they had spotted several motorists slowing down when confronted by a grimacing face.

They now hope that the police will recognise there is a problem with motorists speeding through Lyneham, which some villagers believe could be resolved by the installation of permanent speed cameras.

The £3,000 cost of erecting the signs will be met using money from fines collected by Wiltshire Constabulary Central Road Safety Unit.

The Lyneham trial was the first time the face signs had been used in

Wiltshire, although they have been used effectively in other parts of the country.

The unit has just invested in the equipment, which it plans to move around different village locations.

Kevin Bolan, from the Road Safety Unit, said: "These signs are intended as a warning to speeding motorists that if they continue they will be caught by an enforcement camera.

"They are only short-term and are designed to educate the public and show them what speeds they are doing.

"This is a way of giving them a less painful reminder than a ticket."

There have been concerns about cars and lorries speeding on the A3102 and the B4069, which leads in and out of Lyneham, for years.

But the deaths of two motorcyclists on roads around Lyneham in the summer led 900 residents to bombard the village website to demand something be done to curb motorists' speed.

Andy Humm, who designed the village's website, said: "We have had some really positive feedback from residents. What we want to do now is keep up the impetus to see if we can get the signs more long term or persuade the council to buy them.

"Admittedly if they are in the same place all the time motorists will get used to them, but they can easily be removed from where they are attached, and moved around."

Mr Bolan said it is unlikely a permanent speed camera would be positioned in the village. But he revealed he is

investigating possible sites on roads in and around the village where a mobile speed camera could be placed.

He said the Department for Transport has given the green light to Wiltshire police's request for a new mobile speed enforcement camera, which will be located on a motorcycle.

But Lyneham would have to meet special collision and speed criteria before an application for an 'approved site' for a mobile camera in the village can be sent to the department.

Mr Bolan said Wiltshire and Swindon Safety Camera Partnership is currently carrying out a survey to find out if the A3102 in Lyneham meets the criteria for site approval.

If the DfT gives permission for siting speed cameras in the village, speed camera enforcement signs will be erected along the road.

Malcolm Petch, chairman of Lyneham Parish Council, said: "We have a lot of problems with drivers who take hardly any notice of the village speed limits.

"You can put as many signs up as you like, but if a person driving doesn't adhere there's nothing you can do about it except use a camera to catch them."