A worried villager has fooled speeding motorists into slowing down with a dummy camera made from a bird box.
Nick Porter mounted the painted box on a pole and planted it on a 60mph stretch where he says drivers regularly hit 80 or 90mph.
It lies between High Garrett and Gosfield, Essex, and the limit drops to 40mph in both villages.
Farmer Nick took matters into his own hands after a string of crashes on that section of the A1017. Three people were killed in one incident in 2014.
Villagers in both places, near Braintree, repeatedly asked for the speed limit to be reduced and offered to pay for any signs.
Nick, 40, said the stretch is so dangerous he drives his daughter to school rather than letting her wait beside it for a bus. He explained: “I saw the bird box ‘speed camera’ idea online – and it has worked.
“The traffic is noticeably a little bit slower now – but once people realise it’s not a proper speed camera, they’ll just speed up again.”
Some neighbours have also talked about buying a car to park on the road as a traffic-calming measure.
Nick said: “Obviously we don’t want to do it because if something happens, it’ll be on our conscience.
“But it’s getting to the stage where it’s either that or it could be one of our children.”
Halstead councillor Chris Siddall, who chairs the local highways panel, has asked Essex County Council to slash the speed limit to 40mph.
The council said it investigates all fatal crashes and reviews the previous 10 years of accident data.
