Nottinghamshire villagers' crack down on HGVs
Residents from three Nottinghamshire villages are working with the county council to crack down on lorries using roads they are too heavy for.
Ravenshead, Greasley and Nuthall have joined the Lorry Watch scheme, which sees volunteers reporting any HGVs exceeding weight restrictions.
Nottinghamshire County Council said the scheme had already had a positive impact in several villages.
Drivers found to be breaching restrictions could face prosecution.
Under the scheme, volunteers feed information to trading standards officers who then investigate the reports with the Vehicle Operating Standards Agency.
The volunteers are given basic training by the council on weight restrictions in their area and are taught how to spot lorries which exceed the limit.
Ravenswood has an 18 tonne weight restriction and a 7.5 tonne restriction applies to Nuthall, Greasley and Kimberley.
'Dangerous and intimidating'
The county council said Papplewick, the first village to take part in the scheme in July 2010, had reported a 40% reduction in the number of lorries using weight-restricted roads.
The project has also been rolled out to Linby, Cropwell Bishop, Coddington and Langar cum Barstone.
Mick Murphy, cabinet member for community safety, said: "The weight restrictions on the county's roads are in place for very good reasons. Many of the roads are narrow and totally unsuitable for vehicles of that size.
"Big lorries squeezing along narrow roads can be very intimidating - not to mention dangerous - for pedestrians and other motorists."