COUNTRY towns and villages in an East Lancashire borough can now deploy three new flashing speed warning signs.

Ribble Valley Council has introduced the additional Speed Indicator Devices (SPIDs) in a bid to tackle the problem on its narrow winding rural roads.

They will be temporarily installed on key routes to display and record a vehicle’s speed and alert the driver if they are above or below the limit.

The three SPIDS will be moved around to locations requested by the borough's parish councils and used to target police speed enforcement and physical highway controls.

The data recorded from them will be shared with parish councillors and the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership.

It will be used to prioritise potential police interventions as well as to inform any further possible road safety measures.

Cillr Stuart Hirst, chairman of Ribble Valley Council’s health and housing committee, said: “We are delighted to be able to support road safety and our parish councils, via the purchase of SPID devices.

“We recognise that road safety is consistently named as one of the top three concerns for residents.

"In addition, we know that rural roads can pose a high risk, with speed often being a major factor in rural road crashes.

"A national study of single-carriageway rural roads estimated that a 10 per cent increase in average speed results in a 30 in per cent increase in fatal and serious crashes.

“It is imperative therefore that we continue to develop and implement initiatives to improve road safety and alleviate concerns for our residents.”

Claire Pearson - chief inspector for response policing in Burnley, Pendle and Ribble Valley - said: “We recognise that road safety is amongst one of the top concerns of the community in Ribble Valley.

“SPIDs will not only advise drivers regarding their speeds but will also be used by the police to understand speed concern areas and ensure we put our officers in the right places at the right time.

"Initiatives such as this are key to reducing speeding issues, keeping our communities safe and reducing accidents on our rural road network.”

Andy Pratt, Lancashire's deputy police and crime commissioner, said: “I am really pleased that SPIDs are being deployed in Ribble Valley.

"They are incredibly useful in reminding drivers to slow down and stick to the speed limits."