VILLAGERS battling some 41,088 drivers a week often using their roads as an A34 ‘rat run’ have set up their own speedwatch.

For years, drivers have stormed through Islip avoiding the notoriously-congested A34 and travelling to and from Bicester.

The ‘dangerous’ problem forced residents to call for a 20mph speed limit to be enforced through the rural village just north of Oxford.

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Now villagers have taken it into their own hands to ensure this speed limit is met by all drivers heading through the area.

Co-organiser of the project is residents Dennis Price, who said: “This is the culmination of a project to make the streets of Islip safer.

“The village is fairly narrow, with a lot of twists and turns and often without pavements.

“The B4027 is used as a rat run, mainly in rush hour and it can be quite dangerous.

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“There are quite a lot of young children in the village, as well as elderly and people are concerned when walking around.”

The Islip Traffic group previously said a survey revealed that 41,088 cars a week were counted travelling both ways through the village.

The latest efforts for villagers to combat the problem will see volunteers heading out onto the streets in high-visibility vests with a speed gun - funding by the parish council.

The community speedwatch team includes about a dozen people and Mr Price, who is leading the scheme with fellow resident Mike Clarke, said a consultation on the project received 99 per cent support from residents.

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He added: “This speed-checking system is not so much about prosecuting people but about persuading people to stick to the speed limits at least within the village.

“Most people do but then you get the occasion where one person decides the limit doesn’t apply to them and races through the place – it is really dangerous.”

The project has been a combined effort from Islip Parish Council, village residents, Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire County Council.

Mr Price added that the police had helped train residents in using the speed gun and helped with the organisation of the community scheme.

Oxfordshire county councillor for Islip Dan Sames said: “Speeding, especially in villages, is one of the most common issues residents raise with me as a county councillor.

“I’m pleased to support the community speed watch initiative since any measure that can reduce speed in villages can only be seen as positive.

“I hope that other parishes follow Islip’s example so they too can experience the benefits.”

The team now hope the speedwatch project will be a permanent one for the village.