Fed-up residents in Saltaire are getting up a petition in protest at speeding motorists using their historic village as a "race track".

Villagers living in Victoria Road say motorists reach speeds of up to 70mph when they drive up and down the street, putting residents' and tourists' lives at risk.

Now they have set up a petition in protest at the motorists and are asking for traffic-calming measures to be installed to slow them down.

Petition organiser Helen Kemp said: "There are a lot of people with very fast cars who drive down to the bottom of Victoria Road, turn round and then put their foot down and accelerate - they're just using it as a race track.

"People from all walks of life seem to be doing it, it's as if they just don't care.

"Saltaire wasn't built for traffic of any kind, let alone driving like this - they're putting people's lives at risk."

Residents are now suggesting restoring the road to an old-fashioned cobbled street as a way of calming the traffic.

Green Party representative for Shipley West David Ford is also concerned about the issue and says he will take it up with Bradford Council.

He said: "A lot of children and elderly people use Victoria Road and the traffic is just too fast.

"Saltaire is a very busy tourist village and its nature has changed as a consequence. The authority should respond to those changes and make sure the road can control traffic in some way.''

Mr Ford said residents had also raised their concerns about lorries cutting through the village via Tower Road and Dallam Road.

"The lorries are using the roads to cut through the village to avoid Saltaire roundabout, which is another issue we'll be taking up with the Council." he added.

The petition is available to sign at Helen Kemp's shop in Victoria Road.

A spokesman at Bradford Council's roads department said the residents' concerns would be investigated after the petition had been received.

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