WORK has started on a £200,000 scheme to support a reduced speed limit through a village near Winchester.

Traffic bosses at Hampshire County Council have proposed a series of measures for Colden Common, similar to those introduced in Twyford.

But Twyford residents say that the scheme has been insufficient to alleviate dangerous speed levels on Main Road.

Research showed that 15 per cent of cars were breaking the 30 mph speed limit by at least 8mph. A meeting between the council and villagers will be held in the wake of a Daily Echo story last week.

In Colden Common the council proposes to lower the 40mph speed limit to 30mph along the B3354, and install gateway features, four pedestrian central islands, anti-skid surfacing and white lining to visually narrow the carriageway. The scheme aims to improve safety for pedestrians and reduce speed along Main Road, and has been designed in consultation with the parish council.

Contractors Caroway Construction is scheduled to take 15 weeks to complete the work.

County council executive member for environment, Keith Estlin, said: "This is the second village on the B2177/B3354 Twyford to Wickham corridor to have traffic management measures implemented to improve pedestrian and road safety.

"Public consultation carried out in October last year showed a high level of support for the measures There will be some inevitable disruption while work is under way, so it would be advisable to factor this into journey times."