POLICE are targeting four roads over the next few weeks in a bid to crack down on speeding and cut accidents.

Research by the Durham and Darlington Road Casualty Reduction Forum showed that a third of drivers using the B1283 in Sherburn, near Durham, were over the 30mph limit.

Police also found 15 per cent of drivers using the B6308 Medomsley Road, in Consett, were exceeding the 30mph speed limit.

On the B6301 Commercial Street, in Cornsay Colliery, 16 per cent of motorists were exceeding the speed limit and were liable to prosecution.

A further 20 per cent of motorists were travelling over the limit on the A1086 Coast Road, at Blackhall Rocks, east Durham.

The roads were picked out by the forum, which meets regularly to discuss speeding problems and consider which areas should be targeted.

PC Dave Nixon, road casualty reduction officer, said: "Decisions taken on speed enforcement campaigns are based on intelligence obtained from a number of sources, and the primary aim is to reduce the number of accidents and, therefore, the number of casualties.

"The campaign also reassures communities living along routes which suffer from a continued and high level of motorists breaking the speed limit."

He said speed enforcement would continue daily on all the county's roads.