CALLS have been made for calming measures down a road where more than 2,000 cars were caught speeding.

Phil Barlow, town councillor, raised concerns over speeding in Church Street, Witham.

A traffic survey was carried out last year by Essex County Council as residents were complaining drivers had been abus- ing the speed limit for years.

Over seven days, 15,695 cars were recorded.

Out of these, 2,442 had exceeded the 30mph speed limit.

One car was found to have been travelling between 80 and 90 miles an hour at 7.15am.

Mr Barlow said: “Since the speed survey was carried out people are still concerned that cars are going at excessive speeds down there.

“There are some people that go too fast and they are hazardous.

“For me it was a case of wanting to understand how fast people go down there and whether there is anything we can do about it.”

Witham Town Council has been trying to get 20mph limits on residential roads for a number of years, but it has never been achieved.

Mr Barlow was shocked to hear someone had been travelling three times over the speed limit.

He said: “I find it bizarre as even if one person is going at that speed you need to be concerned, and if it’s a regular thing they need to be given some education.

“There have been a couple of people who have seen near misses and one woman had her wing mirror knocked off.

“Driving at that speed is just crazy, you could get a serious accident as you are out of control at that speed.

“It’s a stupid thing to do on residential roads where there are parked cars.

“The survey is reflecting the fact residents feel they are in an unsafe area.”

Town councillors are in the process of discussing whether any preventative measures can be put in place.

Last year residents had asked for speed bumps to be installed in Church Street.

Councillors agreed with their concerns but were mindful there was a problem enforcing speed restrictions as buses would find it difficult to get down the road with speed bumps in place.

The matter was further dis- cussed at a meeting on April 18.