A WORRIED father is campaigning to slow down drivers on a busy country lane near Pickmere amid fears there may be a serious accident involving a child.

Wincham resident Steve Smith believes motorists a ‘lulled’ into driving in excess of the 30mph speed limit on Pickmere Lane due to the configuration of the road.

“The 30mph starts at the end of Pickmere but the start is a straight road that does not feel like a built up area because the houses are well set back,” explained Steve, who lives in Orchard Close and walks Pickmere Lane regularly with his six-year-old son Taku.

“It then enters Wincham where it suddenly becomes a built up area with no speed indication signs.

“From my observations, most people are doing 40mph with many more well in excess of that.”

The road, used by many as a shortcut between the motorway network and Northwich, is used heavily by pedestrians and touring cyclists.

Steve’s concerns over the road – which was reduced from 40mph to 30mph in 2010 – began when Wincham Community Primary School pupil Taku was almost knocked from his bike by a speeding four by four.

“It passed my son so fast that despite the fact he was actually on the pavement, the slipstream made him wobble and nearly fall in front of a following car.

“Now I make my son stop riding and put his feet down every time I witness a car approaching at a significant speed but that means in the relatively short distance we are on the road he has to stop all the time.”

Steve, who works as an operations manager, hopes to see 30mph marked on Pickmere Lane at regular intervals and repeat 30mph signs – although current UK law prohibits such signs from being placed.

Wincham Parish Council discussed the issue at its latest meeting, with plans being discussed to part-fund a speed indicator device on the road.

Despite being a step in the right direction, 57-year-old Steve feels such a device needs to be part of a comprehensive scheme.

He said: “No amount of signage will change the way a deliberate speeder drives.

“However, I think interactive signs will prompt accidental speeders to review their speed and adjust it.

“It will have an effect, but it is not the full solution.”

A Cheshire West and Chester Council spokesman said: “Excessive or inappropriate speed, whether real or perceived, is an issue for many communities and we receive many requests for additional measures to support existing speed limits.

“The council’s road safety team has developed a community speed management process to help address this – this is a step by step approach initially delivered by community groups.

“We would not normally consider permanent engineering measures until the initial steps had been carried out.”