Police vow to tackle 'wholesale disregard by motorists' of speed limits and red lights in Hartlepool

It comes after concerns were raised by a resident at the latest Safer Hartlepool Partnership meeting of a “wholesale disregard by motorists of speed limits, red lights and prohibitive signs” in the town.

Speaking at the meeting this week, Mark Haworth, Hartlepool Neighbourhood Policing Team chief inspector, stressed steps are already being taken to address the issue, with further initiatives planned.

Work will include dedicated speed camera vans along with officers targeting areas where issues have been recorded.

It comes following collaborative work between the neighbourhood policing team, traffic partners and the community safety team on the issue in Hartlepool.

Speaking at the meeting, Chief Inspector Haworth said: “We’ve been planning some speedwatch days, we’ve got 15 members of staff who have been trained to bring local speed cameras back into the community.

“We’ve now got throughout Cleveland dedicated speed camera vans that will be placed within the Hartlepool area on at least eight or nine times [in the near future].”

Chief Inspector Haworth added numerous targeted initiatives will also be taking place to tackle problem areas where speeding has been reported, such as around Park Road.

He added this is all part of further resources being made available to help offer communities reassurance over the issue.

He said: “We’ve also got up to 15 special constables that are having some proactive days with some dedicated traffic officers that are in local policing.

“They’re targeting various things like the areas like Park Road, the A689 and some of the problems that have been in Tesco car park.

“There’s lots of conversations going on with some private landowners, but for the speedwatch you will see some local policing officers in your area taking enforcement.”

At the meeting concerns raised by the resident included how around Park Road “speed started to increase during the first lockdown and has just carried on”.

Concerns had also previously been raised by councillors over traffic issues in Park Road, and in May a female school crossing patrol warden previously serving the area was injured after a collision involving a car on the road.