Operation cherub for safer roads
The roads through the Ogmore Valley should be safer this summer after a successful policing operation which was run by the Ogmore Valley Neighbourhood Policing Team.
Operation Cherub set out to address and tackle the issues of motorists who drive too fast throughout the Ogmore Valley and to raise the importance of road safety awareness to local young people and other members of the community.
The Operation has been run throughout the past month the local NPT following reports received from residents and councillors during PACT meetings and surgeries and Community Council Meetings that their greatest cause of concern was the safety of pedestrians and other road users within the Ogmore Valley when so many motorists were travelling in excess of the 30mph speed limit.
During the March PACT meeting in Blackmill speeding and road safety awareness was agreed as a PACT priority. In response to this PCSO Gemma Matthews the local officer for the Blackmill ward analysed the issues of speeding throughout the valley and devised Operation Cherub.
PCSO Matthews said: “Over a two day period the NPT visited both Nantymoel and Ogmore Vale Primary Schools and pupils from years Five and Six took part in an exercise using the hand held speed camera to record vehicles travelling in excess of 30 mph along Aber Road in Nantymoel and Bethania Row in Ogmore Vale. They spoke to speeding motorists and delivered powerful message to all motorists stopped.
“The message read out by the school pupils was hard hitting and proved to be an effective approach to highlighting to motorists the dangers of speeding and the importance of road safety”’
Neighbourhood Beat Manager PC Gemma Tibbott of the Ogmore Valley Neighbourhood Policing Team added: “Operation Cherub was a great success which lead to the team utilising the hand held speed camera throughout the Ogmore Valley.
“A total of 430 motor vehicles were recorded and 15 motorists were issued with written warnings for speeding. The Ogmore Valley NPT worked closely with the Automatic Number Plate Recognition Team, which in turn led to the arrest and charge of a male motorist for the offence of driving whilst disqualified and several motor vehicles being seized from motorists for driving without insurance.
“We have had such a positive response from the local community that the team will continue to hold speeding operations in the future to tackle the issues of speeding within the Ogmore Valley. We will share our information and figures with the local council to work in partnership to continue to tackle the matter.”