POLICE have been praised by a campaigning councillor for clamping down on speeding motorists in communities including Addingham.

Bradford District and Silsden town councillor Rebecca Whitaker was delighted to learn that officers from the Steerside Enforcement Team were active in the area. She said they issued four tickets on one day this month on Bolton Road, a notorious speeding hotspot on the main route out of Silsden towards Addingham.

She said: “I was particularly pleased to see Steerside in the Craven ward as I feel that we are often forgotten in the outlying villages and miss out to other places within Bradford district.

“Bolton Road is a particular hot spot for speeding, but Skipton Road and Howden Road in Silsden are too. In Addingham, Main Street and Silsden Road are identified as having speeding traffic.”

The Steerside Enforcement Team is made up of West Yorkshire Police officers dedicated to tackling anti-social driving.

Target locations of Addingham, Silsden and the A650 were selected due to residents in those areas raising concerns. One motorist was also clocked doing 86mph.

The Silsden action was part of an operation in Keighley in July when they handed out 34 tickets to people, including one driver who was caught speeding for the second day in a row.

Cllr Whitaker, who sits on Bradford and Silsden councils, works closely with Bradford Council highways officers to tackle traffic concerns across Great one.

She said: “By working with the Highways Safety Team, I have added various ‘Slow Down’ signs and improved 20mph areas.

“I have looked at having permanent speed cameras installed on some of the roads mentioned but am told they don’t meet the evidence based criteria and cameras can no longer be put up to act simply as a ‘cash cow’.

“However, I will continue to pursue this and also look at other measures to improve highway safety in our area.”

In summer last year Cllr Whitaker took part in a fact-finding investigation in Steeton with fellow district councillor Adrian Naylor, senior highway safety officer Simon D’Vali, Steeton-with-Eastburn Parish Council chairman Councillor David Mullen, and a villager.

As the posse looked at traffic concerns in the Chapel Road area, two cars investigating drove the wrong direction down the narrow one-way street.