THE death of a much-loved family cat hit by a car on a road used as a rat-run through Shrewton prompted a resident to take matters into his own hands – cobbling together a speed camera out of a kitchen cupboard.

Antony Cull got together with his neighbour Chris Fawcett to build a fake speed camera, which they put up along London Road.

Mr Cull’s eight-year-old cat Millie was hit by a car in London Road after having lived there for six-and-a-half years.

“She was part of the family and she was just left on the bank down there,” he said. “Our little girl was absolutely devastated.”

The dummy device was pulled down and burnt on Saturday, but the pair have built another one to replace it.

Residents said cars are slowing down as they approach the yellow box, but Wiltshire Council said it is on council land and wants it removed.

“The main thing is that it works,” said Mr Cull, who says the fake camera is on his land, not the council’s.

Cllr Ian West said: “We want action. That fake camera is action and it’s probably not what authorities want to see but it’s very effective and that’s what people are clearly for.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesman told the Journal: “The council has a robust |system for dealing with speeding issues raised by local |communities.

“Issues should be referred to the local community area board, who will work with the local community to examine what speed control measures are appropriate for that particular road.

“The considerations to deal with speeding issues will include the use of the volunteer speedwatch scheme, installation of speed indicator devices or other direct |measures.

“It is vital that any scheme introduced is effective and delivers the required result. The council would ask everyone to follow the approved procedure to ensure the best scheme is delivered to meet the community needs.”

A traffic survey monitoring vehicle movements on the A303 and through the surrounding villages started on Monday.

The monitoring exercise uses automatic number plate recognition technology to individually track the behaviour of motorists in the survey area.