A Hampshire Police road safety initiative has caught more than 2,200 speeding offences in just over seven months.

The force’s Safer Roads Unit began deploying two police motorcyclists in August last year, using handheld laser and video detection devices to support neighbourhood policing teams and tackle speeding in areas highlighted by residents.

Officers can target locations where traditional speed camera vans cannot operate, including near schools and on rural roads.

The scheme, which began as a trial, has now been made permanent after its success.

Local policing teams can request support from the Motorcycle Enforcement Team to address concerns about speeding and reassure residents.

Paul Freeman, who leads the team, said: “This new initiative has been a huge success. We have been able to respond to community concerns quicker and in places we haven’t been able to visit in the past.

“Bikes are a lot smaller than the speed camera vans, so can be parked almost anywhere. We can’t get the vans near a school for example, but the bikes can go everywhere. The agility and ability of the bikes means they can be parked where we need them most, on roads that we haven’t been able to enforce in the past.

“They are also great for visibility and public engagement. You can’t see the person in the van operating the camera, but the motorcyclists are right there so we can interact with members of the public about the bikes and what we do.

“The officers can also replay the offence on their handheld device so people can see the reason why they were caught. This is key because the main reason we do this is to educate drivers, so they don’t speed again in the future.

“If you don’t speed, you don’t need to worry about us. But the sheer number of offences that have been captured is proof that speeding is still a serious problem on our roads. Our work is crucial to changing the attitudes of those drivers.

“I would just like to ask everyone to please slow down. We all have a responsibility to keep our roads safe for everyone and speeding dramatically increases the risk of serious life-changing crashes.”