BOLTON is poised for a big increase in the use of speed humps as speed limits in residential areas are set to be lowered to 20 miles per hour.

"It's the most popular policy we've got," says deputy council leader Cllr Guy Harkin. "It's madness," say opponents. Roger Williams steers his way through the debate.

NOISE from lorries rumbling over a speed hump outside his house gave builder Ian Beesley sleepless nights.

When complaints to the council fell on deaf ears he took matters into his own hands. He dug up the offending obstacle with a JCB borrowed from work, made good the road surface and reported himself to the police.

The Oxford builder's example might raise a snigger, but "sleeping policemen", while lowering speeds, have been raising hackles across the country.

For many Boltonians they are no laughing matter and plans to increase their use in the town have proved divisive. Debate has raged in the Bolton Evening News letters page with correspondents from the "for" and "against" camps equally impassioned.

The most vocal cheerleader for speed humps has been Cllr Guy Harkin. For him the issue is simple -- cutting speeds will cut pedestrian death tolls, and if that inconveniences a few motorists, then so be it.

"I've seen a little lad killed in a residential area so I have absolutely no sympathy for anyone who wants to drive at speed where children are playing," he says.

Cllr Harkin, the council's executive member for environment whose remit includes road safety, believes statistics speak for themselves.

"To me it's clear cut," he says. "If children are hit at 40 mph they are dead. If they are hit at 20 mph there's a 90 per cent survival rate."

Far-reaching plans would make Bolton one of the first places in Britain to cap speeds in all residential areas to 20 mph.

But because the police do not have the resources to patrol reduced limits, the council says they have to be self-enforcing. While a variety of traffic calming methods are being examined, the most likely option is speed humps.

Cllr Harkin insists that they are not being imposed on an unwilling public by a nannying council.

He says: "When we conduct surveys we regularly have 85 per centc to 90 per cent of people in favour of speed humps. They are very popular. It's as popular a policy as we have got."

Mention to him the opposition from motorists who claim humps will damage vehicles, increase noise and pollution and distract drivers -- while making little difference to accident figures -- and his response is typically blunt.

"The minority are very angry about this but they are a minority with bees in their bonnet," he said. "There are probably about 10 or 12 people who I've had letters off in the last few months."

There are certainly communities which are crying out for traffic calming measures.

But opponents feel such measures are another example of anti-car politics, claiming the "concrete lumps" will achieve little but inconvenience for law-abiding motorists.

Geoffrey Breakel, of Hatfield Road, Brownlow Fold, is scornful of council claims that the public shares its enthusiasm for humps.

He says: "I don't know where they get that from. I don't know anyone who supports them. Most people I know think the council should get rid of the speed bumps they have, let alone create new ones."

Mr Breakell believes speed bumps are being treated as a cure-all.

"I have never been convinced that these things are saving lives. Most accidents are caused by lack of attention.

"All we seem to be saying is accidents are going to happen so we will make sure they happen slowly. If we take this to its logical conclusion you'd go at four mph and have a man with a red flag walking in front of the car."

The town's motoring bodies, meanwhile, and the ambulance service are steering a careful middle course between the two sides of the speed hump argument.

Roy Sammons, chairman of Bolton Advance Motorists group, is concerned that enthusiasm for humps might mean a "blanket" coverage rather than targeting them where they are needed.

He says: "I think the balance is wrong. There isn't a universal answer where you can please everyone. You have to look at the specific problems and try to solve those."

Charles Oakes, Secretary of Bolton Taxi Drivers' Association, admits members are concerned about potential damage to vehicles but acknowledges a need for traffic calming.

"It has to be coupled with other measures," he says.

Greater Manchester Ambulance Service, meanwhile, does not endorse fears voiced elsewhere that traffic calming measures could cause fatal delays.

Whether more road humps is a vote-winner, as the council's ruling Labour group claims, or whether it will create more would-be Ian Beesleys remains to be seen.

But the real measure of their impact will come when accident figures are published. If the council can prove to the Government that humps have been a success, funding will be available for more.

There is one thing all involved in the speed hump debate agree. The real villains of the peace are the drivers who wilfully flout speed limits in built-up areas.

As Mr Oakes says: "If we didn't have these bloody idiots flying around we wouldn't have a need for any of these things."