Pop-Up Bob to target Wemyss villages this summer

Use of the fibreglass bobby, prompted by concerns from local councillor Jim Young, is aimed at increasing road safety during the school holidays.

Inspector Tom Brown said: “There will be uniformed police officers deployed with speed guns to enforce speeding legislation and I would encourage all drivers to slow down going through the villages.“

He added: “Pop Up Bob will be deployed and where drivers see him they should be warned that police officers are in the area looking to capture people breaking the speed limit.”

Cllr Young said the campaign was crucial because local children would be breaking off for the summer holidays this weekend.

He said: “Speeding has dropped off quite a bit but at the same time it’s beginning to creep up again.

“We once caught a woman going at 41mph past the primary school after dropping her own kids off!”

According to UK Traffic data, the section of the A955 through the Wemyss villages handles 4689 vehicles a day.

Fife Council installed traffic calming nibs in 2005 and imposed a 20 mph speed limit in a bid to stop drivers leaving the Wemyss villages faster then they were entering.

However, just days after they were erected, a lorry hit a wall and, in March 2007, a car crashed into a nib just outside the local primary school.

Following consultation with councillors and residents, the nibs were replaced with speed cushions in 2008 and the 20 mph speed limit extended to include the West Wemyss junction.