Residents are now being trained up to catch speeding motorists.

Volunteers and police were out over the weekend as the much-trailed operation to tackle speeding took to the streets.

The Community Speed Watch scheme was first approved back in 2021 and has been hotly debated and anticipated ever since.

Over the last weekend, volunteers armed with speed cameras took to the streets to help monitor traffic around hotspot areas, like Bradford Road in Farnworth.

Cllr Nadeem Ayub, of Farnworth North, said: “Bradford Road has long been a hotspot area for speeding and a cause of concern.

“A number of residents have highlighted this with us and it us something that we have repeatedly taken to the police.

The community speed watch scheme has long been under discussionThe community speed watch scheme has long been under discussion (Image: GMP)

“We have reported this to the police on many occasions and have often had the response that resources are limited and things like that.

“So, a scheme like this that involves members of the community and allows them to help deal with speeding really does help to tackle this issue.”

The community speed watch scheme was first proposed by the then Cllr Madeleine Murry, of Great Lever, in 2021 as a way of dealing with long running concerns about speeding.

It was since backed by both the Labour and Conservative groups. 

Volunteers were out over the last weekVolunteers were out over the last week (Image: GMP)

Bolton Council heard last December that volunteers had been recruited in Farnworth to take part in the scheme, we could also potentially be deployed in other areas.

Addressing a town hall meeting at the time council cabinet member for stronger communities Cllr Rabiya Jiva said that several roads had been nominated in Farnworth for the scheme.

She also said at the time that given the number of people that had applied in Farnworth this meant that the authority could also look at roads elsewhere. 

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Over the last week volunteers and officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Rumworth Neighbourhood Team had been taking part in a speed watch scheme.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: “The community speed watch Scheme is an operation whereby individuals from the community volunteer their own time to operate a speed camera on vehicles passing through. 

“The scheme is another way in which the community can get involved in the issues which are of concern for the community. 

“Greater Manchester Police would like to thank all the volunteers who give up their own time in aide of helping their communities thrive. 

“Bradford Road in Farnworth was amongst the streets targeted.”