A campaign group has been formed to crack down on speeding problems which have come to “plague” a Norfolk town.

Hingham Road Safety Campaign (HRSC) is aimed at encouraging motorists to slow down when driving on the B1108, and ultimately push for new infrastructure to reduce speeding instances.

The group is handing out hi-vis jackets to residents until the end of August, while banners and signs have been installed to remind drivers ‘don’t speed’.

Geoff Bedford, one of the group’s leaders, said the problem had been endemic to Hingham for several decades, but emphasised that very little has changed.

“This is not a new aim,” said Mr Bedford, who lives on the B1108. “When I first arrived here, it became clear that people have been trying to calm the traffic down in Hingham for 30 years.

“The only thing that has happened in that time is getting new 20mph limits where it is quite narrow and desperately needed, but that doesn’t stop people putting their foot down.

“People driving between Watton and Norwich seem to think going through Hingham at 20 or 30mph is a great inconvenience. From where I live, I see it happening every day so that has really fired me up.

“A group of us got together and said ‘let’s finally do something about this’. People are really abusing this town and its facilities.”

Among the proposals being mooted by HRSC are a roundabout at the west end of town and pedestrian crossings in the centre, of which there are currently none.

The campaign will culminate in the group producing a report containing recommendations, to be sent to all relevant local bodies, including Norfolk County Council.

Mr Bedford, 80, added: “It may not be an ideal time given the coronavirus crisis, but you have to ask: if not now, when? We have seen during the pandemic how much speeding has increased - it is a bit like a plague of its own.

“We’ve put up signs and painted the road to say ‘20 please’, but we are looking for what I would call ‘hard traffic calming’ and that needs investment in infrastructure.

“Norfolk is scattered with villages and small towns that do not attract a lot of public investment, and all we are looking for is a slice of the cake.”