Two 24/7 traffic cops have been “commissioned’ to help deter speeding in a Caithness village.
Reay has enlisted the help of two cardboard cut-out officers wielding radar guns to make motorists slow down.
Caithness West Community Council, which has long sought to combat speeding through the village, came up with the idea and is pleased the tactic already seems to be working.
The group successfully campaigned to have the limit reduced from 40mph to 30mph but is frustrated at the number of motorists who flout this.
Now their two cops, dressed in hi-viz jackets and pointing speed guns, are stationed opposite the primary school and on the long straight stretch between the golf course and the village store.
David Craig, from the community council, said they had already proved their worth.
“The one opposite the school has a 20mph zone in operation when the school is in,” he said. “We regularly see people going at excessive speeds past there and earlier this summer vehicles going at more than 60mph was not uncommon.
“They are pretty convincing when you come across them for the first time.
“Locals will get used to them and know they’re not real but anyone, for instance, driving around the NC500 in a sports car or motorhome will immediately hit the brakes if they are going too fast.”
Communities get creative to stop speeders
The community council is now looking at the possibility of extending the initiative to other villages in its patch where speeding is an issue.
Neighbouring Melvich Community Council is also believed to be considering adopting the idea.
Mr Craig added: “One of their members who works at Dounreay has noticed how traffic is slowing up through Reay but continuing to hammer through Melvich.
“They are now looking into getting their own figures.”
The community is not the first to take action into their own hands.
In Hopeman, residents became so worried a child might got knocked down that they began using hairdryers as mock speed guns to get speeders to slow down.
They donned fluorescent jackets and pointed hairdryers at B9040 to Burghead from their gardens to get drivers to think again.
The drastic action was hailed a success within a month, and garnered attention from around the world.