A VILLAGE movement to cut the speed limit on a dangerous stretch of road is gathering pace after overwhelming support from residents.

People living in Forston near Charminster are campaigning to reduce the limit on the A352 which runs through the village to 30mph following a series of accidents.

Parish councillors agreed to approach Dorset County Council, which is responsible for highways, to ask for the speed limit to be imposed.

Gill Reese presented a petition to the parish council at a meeting attended by around a quarter of the village residents.

She said: “I’m delighted. I knew what the feeling was in Forston. Everyone has said it is a death trap.

“Villagers are unable to even walk safely to each other’s houses or the postbox,” Mrs Reese said.

The current speed limit on the road is 60mph.

And it’s not just residents who are affected.

Mrs Reese said: “Forston has four public bridleways and they are almost unusable because horse riders have to access them from the road.

“People using these rights of way have just as much right to safety and access as everyone else.”

She added: “Around 100 people signed the petition and 20 came to the meeting, which is around a quarter of the village population.”

Mark Simons, chairman of Charminster Parish Council, said residents had persuaded parish councillors to support the proposal.

He added: “There was certainly a big attendance and people spoke quite strongly in favour of a reduction due to accidents in the vicinity.

“We will now collect evidence and put this forward to the county council.

“There may be other traffic calming measures which would be appropriate but we will just have to wait and see.”

Residents and parish councillors met with West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin before the meeting to discuss what could be done.