HUNDREDS of residents are demanding speed cameras to tackle motorists who drive too fast along York's Hull Road.

A petition signed by about 700 people from Badger Hill and Osbaldwick will be presented to a full meeting of City of York Council tomorrow by Hull Road councillor David Wilde.

He said people on both sides of the dual carriageway were very concerned about the speed of many drivers, many of whom were going well above the 40mph limit, and wanted cameras to catch and deter the speeders.

Residents' worries focused on the stretch of road from the big roundabout with Field Lane to the junction with Tang Hall Lane. "People are going at a hell of a speed down there," he said.

"One person living there told me he often hears the squeal of brakes and breaking glass, and these are often accidents that are not reported."

But he said there had also been a number of injury accidents reported in the last three years, including a fatality at a pedestrian crossing.

Parents in Osbaldwick were worried about children who had to cross the road to get to Archbishop Holgate School, but also to visit the shops in Badger Hill.

North Yorkshire Police are opposed to the installation of fixed speed cameras on the county's roads, preferring other methods of catching and deterring speeders.

Coun Wilde said he had spoken to police who had said it would cost half a million pounds to install cameras.

He said he would be pressing for such cameras, but he said that even if these could not be agreed, other steps could still be taken to tackle the problem.

A police spokesman said that with 6,000 miles of roads across the county, it was harder to identify consistent accident blackspots, and the force preferred to have the flexibility to respond at different locations when speeding problems and accidents arose.

He said vehicles were equipped with speed detection equipment, and there was the capability to carry out roadside checks. Other steps could also be carried out to tackle speeding, often in conjunction with or by the local highway authority - from traffic calming to bigger signs.

Updated: 08:40 Monday, July 25, 2005