Flashing signs to be rolled out in bid to cut speeds

Signs that flash up drivers' registration numbers when they are caught speeding will be extended to a busy Walsall road within months, it emerged today.

A £60,000 Watchman sign will be installed along Sutton Road, where the speed limit is being slashed from 40mph to 30mph, by March.

It will be the fifth sign introduced by Walsall Council, which is one of the few authorities in the UK pioneering the technology.

A sensor placed on a pole detects drivers' speed limits, and anyone going too fast has their registration number displayed on a sign by the roadside.

Walsall's transport chief Councillor Tom Ansell said the signs acted as a deterrent, and that following its introduction in the Broadway it had led to nearby speed cameras being activated 73 per cent less.

The signs are also operational in Northgate, Aldridge, and could be expanded across the West Midlands.

The Sutton Road camera will be installed near Longwood Lane, and comes after residents campaigned for safety measures following a series of accidents.

"The Watchman sign in Sutton Road will be fully installed within this financial year," Councillor Ansell said.

"The posts for the cameras have been installed and we're now waiting for the utility company to connect it to the electricity supply."