WEST Mercia police is launching a new scheme to tackle speeding on Herefordshire's roads.

The Community Speedwatch initiative is being piloted for a year and involves members of the community working in partnership with police to monitor the speed of vehicles passing through selected locations.

Volunteers will be trained by police to use specialist speed-monitoring equipment at the locations, all of which will be in areas where there's a speed limit of 40mph or below.

Details of offending vehicles will be logged and passed on to the police, who in turn send a letter to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

A maximum of two letters will be sent to repeat offenders, after which police will consider prosecution.

"Rural crime surveys and consultation indicate that real, or perceived, incidents of speeding are a major factor in preventing people from enjoying the environment they have chosen to live in," said Chief Insp Shane Hancock, head of the Community Speedwatch initiative.