Speed blitz at hotspot

Officers are hitting the streets with handheld laser guns to stop speeding drivers in their tracks following a spate of crashes on the borough's roads.

Officers will swoop on Halesowen and Stourbridge using the hi-tech gadgets to catch "reckless" drivers red-handed. Campaigners say action needs to be taken before someone gets killed.

Around 10 officers at a time, kitted out with the devices and automatic number plate recognition, will be targeting speeding hot-spots in the area.

They will start with Lye before moving on to Halesowen.

Halesowen councillor Ken Turner said he welcomed the crackdown.

He said: "There is a major problem just in my particular area of Halesowen, round Huntingtree Road, and we should not forget that we have a primary school in that road.

"We also have a number of people out walking dogs, as well as elderly people and young children and it only takes one of them to be hit and we could have a fatality.

"We need a solution before an accident like that happens, not after."

Reassurance officer Carly Anderson, from West Midlands Police, said Operation Stodge would be carrying on until at least the New Year.

She said the speed enforcement was a "no-nonsense approach to reckless behaviour on the roads".

"Speeding and irresponsible driving is always an issue and we want to cover all the bases by making sure our officers are equipped," she said. "These officers will be equipped with handheld devices which flash automatically if cars speed past.

"There are a quite a few hotspots and a few people have been hospitalised."

She added that the scheme would be continuing beyond the festive season.

Halesowen police station's sergeant Corrina Griffiths added that in recent weeks there had been some "serious accidents" caused by speeding.