A TOOTHILL councillor responded to residents' concerns about speeding cars by taking a speed gun to the streets.

Coun Mary Martin (Con) and Bob Sanders, from the council's traffic management department, spent yesterday morning perched at the roadside in Idovers Drive.

They clocked the speed of every car and monitored the density of the traffic from 8am until 10.30am.

The move followed concerns raised by residents in the Advertiser last month. Many fear it is only a matter of time before someone is killed in the road, which is a main walking route to Toothill Primary School.

They cited an incident three months ago, when a driver hit a parked car in the road causing it to land 50 yards away in a neighbour's garden.

Coun Martin said the fastest speed recorded yesterday was 48mph, but most cars seemed to stick to the 30mph limit.

"There was a minority of people who were driving far too fast, but realistically you will see the same anywhere else in Swindon. It is a problem, but it's more an issue of raising people's awareness of their own speed," she said.

"I wanted to go out there for my own understanding of the problem and it appears that during the day, it is quite a quiet road, but it is very busy during peak hours," she said.

The matter was raised at a recent area panel meeting and Coun Martin promised to inspect the area to see what could be done.