A SAFETY group in Wingfield has succeeded in its campaign for more footpaths in the village.

Wiltshire County Council has granted the villagers a footpath between Chapel Lane and Church Lane, which they say will be in place by the end of the year.

Wingfield Safety Group member, Maureen Spreadbury, has lived in the village for sixteen years.

She said: "This is great news for Wingfield. When I first came here there was hardly any traffic. All that has changed and the introduction of the cross roads traffic lights was supposed to calm it down.

"Pedestrians are not safe. We take our lives into our own hands when we walk to the church or to school." The group are campaigning for another footpath to go up between Magdalene Lane and the crossroads.

Group spokesperson, Doreen Willis, fears for the lives of children who have to walk to school along the grass with no footpath.

She said: "There is nowhere safe for them to walk. The government tell children to walk to school to save the environment but they don't provide a safe route for them, so they are better off travelling by car."

The group sent out questionnaires to all residents in the village in 2000. The general feeling amongst them was to introduce more walkways and to reduce the current speed limit from 50mph to 40mph, following a spate of accidents involving speeding cars. Only last week there were two accidents at Wingfield and although they were not serious they are a cause for concern among residents.

Mrs Spreadbury said "It is only a matter of time before one of the accidents is fatal. Something needs to change."

Wiltshire County Council's traffic services manager, Andrew Wyatt, said in a statement: "We regularly monitor the accidents that occur and we identify those sites that have an above average accident rate.

"In the last three years there have been no accidents there which have caused people serious injuries.

"Any complaints received will be considered by the council's regulatory committee."