POLICE are taking on speeding motorists in Upper Stratton with memories of Tyrese Hannah's tragic death uppermost in their minds.

From this week, police will be focusing speed checks on Ermin Street and Headlands Grove, both 30 mile an hour roads, and eventually other roads in the area where they believe drivers continually abuse the law.

Seven-year-old Tyrese was killed in March when a car hit him on Drove Road as he was walking on the pavement with his dog Odi and his mum Caroline.

Upper Stratton beat officer, PC Lisa Tucker, said: "We just don't want an incident like Drove Road to happen again or for any other families to go through that and it's also ruined the driver's life.

"Some of the speeds people are doing down these roads, it's possibly a matter of time before something could happen - that's why we're out here policing it.

"It just takes one child to step out and one car going too fast.

"Upper Stratton's got a nice community feel to it and we don't want a tragic accident to spoil that."

Speeding is a priority for officers in Upper Stratton alongside anti-social behaviour, but PC Tucker believes it is important for people to see the police doing something pro-active.

"I think it's all very well having these priorities, but we have got to police them and show the drivers that we mean business and we mean what we're saying," she said. "Prevention is better than a cure.

"I don't want to book people for speeding, I'd rather people drive sensibly at the speed limit - just be sensible and think about what you're doing."

Motorists are using Headlands Grove, which runs in front of Swindon Academy, as a shortcut.

In addition, both roads being watched by police are long and straight, which tempts people to exceed the speed limit.

Just in the 10 minutes that PC Tucker was on the street, she recorded motorists doing between 32 and 40mph on Headlands Grove. If people are caught they face three points on their license and a £60 fine.

However, as someone familiar with the area, PC Tucker believes this is the tip of the iceberg and that people at night may be doing speeds of 60 or 70mph.

The push has come following meetings with residents.

PC Tucker said the police are currently in talks with the council to get something done to reduce speeding, such as speed humps and warning signs.

At present there is already a sign that flashes if motorists go above 30 miles an hour on Ermin Street and there is a THINK! Sign on Headlands Grove.

Both neighbourhood police officers in Stratton have undergone courses so they can carry out the speed checks themselves rather than rely on the road policing team as part of a Wiltshire Police initiative.

"We're sort of trying to take a bit off responsibility off their shoulders and take some ourselves," added PC Tucker.