POLICE have claimed a County Durham village's speeding problems could come from within the community.

Residents and parish councillors in Middleton St George, near Darlington, complained about the excessive speed of drivers on a particular road in the village.

Beat officers also noted that Middleton Lane was often used by people breaking the 30mph speed limit.

As a result, police decided to see if the problem was bad enough to warrant further action. They set up a traffic monitoring device measuring the speed and volume of traffic along the village road and data from that confirmed the need for action to stop speeding drivers in the village.

A month-long initiative was then launched with Speed Kills signs installed along the one-mile stretch of road in an attempt to get drivers to cut their speed.

Police officers then used hand-held speed cameras as well as cameras in cars to catch offenders who persisted in driving too fast.

Yesterday, the results of the initiative, which finished on Sunday, were revealed.

During the month, 36 drivers were stopped and given verbal warnings about their speed and another eight were handed fixed penalty notices.

A spokesman for Darlington police: "There was an irony that the crackdown on speed was called for by people in the village.

"This particular lane is not a road that would be used by general members of the travelling public. It is mostly used by people who live locally or who know the area.

"Despite the signs and all the warnings and information about speeding, there were still more than 40 drivers who broke the speed limit."

At a recent meeting of Middleton St George Parish Council, it was revealed someone from outside the village had complained about the Speed Kills signs claiming they were unsightly.

But councillors reiterated their support for the campaign and called on people to stick to the speed limit.