The rollout of 20mph speed limits across Southampton is set to be expanded.

The reduced limit is already in place in Bassett, Polygon and St Denys and from Monday, September 11, it will also come into force in Shirley and Freemantle where signs were installed during the summer.

Southampton City Council has now launched a consultation to extend the scheme further to Northam and the city centre.

It comes after the local authority identified 14 residential areas across the city which it says would benefit from a lower speed limit.

The locations chosen by the council are based on 47 requests made by residents between October 2021 and January 2022.

READ MORE: Mixed views on plans to bring in 20mph limits

The council says the scheme aims to make the city "safer and more pleasant" by forcing motorists to slow down and in turn, reduce the number of accidents.

Its website says: "Driving at 20mph is a more forgiving speed when people make mistakes, as the consequence of those mistakes is less severe, the lower the speed of the collision.

"Even if a 20mph limit does not bring speeds down to 20mph or lower, there is evidence that speeds do fall overall, and every 1mph drop in speed can significantly reduce the severity of a collision."

The consultation over the introduction of the limit in Northam and the city centre will run until September 15.

More consultations will follow between now and 2025.