MORE than 300 speeding drivers were caught out on one of Hereford's 'safe' school routes in just four hours, writes BILL TANNER.

Traffic Police snapped the speeders from a covert camera car as children were coming home. PC Martin Hallam, traffic manager for Herefordshire Police, said the figures should make every county parent stop and think. "These offences occurred on one route over a short time at a peak period. Perhaps some of those responsible are parents themselves," he said.

Herefordshire Council set up the 'safe routes' scheme. By reducing risks the authority hoped to promote pupils walking to and from school. But the undercover operation shows speed as an ever-present danger. An unmarked camera car recently prowled two such 'safe routes' in north Hereford soon after the school day had ended.

On Yazor Road its crew saw 114 speeders over two-and-a-half hours. But along Three Elms Road a further 192 were spotted in only 90 minutes. Now the police and council are combining efforts in a crackdown. Cameras and radar will help traffic patrols catch culprits out. Excess speed is said to be a key cause of the 165 road accidents in the county between January-March this year. One person died and 235 were injured.

"We need to make speeding seem as anti-social as drink driving," said PC Hallam.