Fears of fatal crash on dangerous Wem road

North Shropshire officer, Sergeant Claire Greenaway, is urging drivers to slow down on the Ellesmere Road in Wem as she fears one day there will be a fatal accident there due to speeding.

The B5063 is a 60mph road which becomes a 30mph speed limit on the approach to Wem, but she said young drivers have been seen doing much higher speeds on the stretch which leads into the High Street in Wem town centre.

Sgt Greenaway said: "My main concern and worry here is that there is going to be a fatal accident on this stretch of road. We want to keep everybody safe, not just the people that live on the road but those who are driving themselves."

She said police have had problems with anti-social behaviour from youngsters in cars parked on the town's recreational fields and by the Co-op in High Street, but that the issues were sorted to after police spoke to the drivers.

"This is slightly different because the young people are going at high speeds," she said.

"But people in Wem have been reporting the drivers with number plates so we have been able to take action and this will help us stop the problem."

So far police have handed out a number of Section 59 warnings to drivers which is for anti-social and careless driving.

Sgt Greenaway said there were also a number of driving without due care charges being followed up.

"This is a real area of concern for the people of Wem," she said. "We are grateful to people who report this type of driving to us and I would like to urge people to continue to do so."

Mandy Meakin, mayor of Wem, said the road was a dangerous spot in the town.

She said: "It is quite a bad road with a bad bend coming into Wem. It's fast and sometimes you get people coming around the corner and it can be very dangerous.

"When you try and turn out of Lowe Hill Road onto Ellesmere Road you can have someone speeding past you.

"Something does need to be done in the area to slow people down, but there are signs saying 'Kill your Speed' and 'Slow Down', so I'm not sure what more can be done. But I will agree with the police that action needs to be taken to make that entry into Wem safer because it is nasty."

Wem residents are also concerned about the speeding.

Reg Jackson, from Pyms Road, said: "It's like a Formula One circuit sometimes. It's incredible – they floor these little cars.

"The thing is, they fly down and if anyone is coming out of the junctions then they don't stand a chance."

Victoria Sherry, from Lowe Hill Gardens, said the road is notorious in the village and that it has always been the same.

"Most local people know this is a dangerous bit of road with the corner and do slow down, but there are some youngsters who are thrashing the cars around," she said.

"But it has always been like this."

Ellesmere Road resident Bruce Stevenson said: "I've seen people not even stop at the junction with Lowe Hill Road. I suppose you'll always get people who do these mad things. I do hear someone driving around at speed with a loud exhaust and I've thought to myself I hope they catch this person."