A driver has been recorded travelling at 70mph through a 20mph zone on Coursing Batch in Glastonbury, prompting councillors to call for action on speeding.

The figure was revealed at the latest meeting of Glastonbury Town Council, where Somerset Councillor Ewan Cameron presented data collected by a speed indicator device on the road.

The figures also showed an average recorded speed of 27mph — seven miles per hour above the limit.

Councillor Cameron told the meeting: "The Coursing Batch numbers – the speeding going through there is quite astonishing.

"If you look at the bar chart that I've provided, it shows that the average speed is 27 miles an hour, not meeting our 20mph speed limit, and the top speed was 70 miles an hour."

The speed indicator records how fast vehicles are travelling but does not identify what kind of vehicle triggered each reading. Councillors said they had themselves seen large vehicles travelling at speed along the road, particularly early in the morning, but there is no evidence from the device showing what was responsible for the 70mph reading.

The figures prompted a wider discussion about the way the speed limit changes as motorists approach Glastonbury.

Councillor Jon Cousins suggested creating a 30mph section before the existing 20mph zone, arguing that the current drop from 40mph to 20mph was too abrupt.

He said: "With the Coursing Batch 20mph speed limit, my memory is that that changes from a 40 to 20. I think that this is part and parcel of the issue. I have never quite understood why there isn't maybe half a mile worth of 30 miles an hour, so that the people who are driving, who don't know the road, are merely doing 40 and all of a sudden they're into 20."

Councillor Cousins said a more gradual reduction could encourage drivers to shed speed before entering the lower-limit section.

He added: "If the speed limit reduced to 30 before it got to 20, then I think that the amount of speeding might reduce, especially as that stretch there is quite a long stretch.

"If you had a speed camera there in the 30mph limit, it might make people think twice."

Councillor Emma King backed the suggestion, saying the change from 40mph straight into a 20mph zone could feel sudden for motorists coming into town.

She said: "I do think Councillor Cousins' suggestion of the 30-mile-an-hour speed limit is actually probably quite a good one because it is quite a sudden change from the 40 to the 20. I think maybe if there was a 30mph section it would probably be helpful because it is actually quite jarring to go straight from one to the other.

"I would really support that if that was something that we were able to get enacted. I think it would really help."

Councillors also discussed asking police to carry out speed enforcement on Coursing Batch.

No change to the limits has yet been agreed, and altering the speed limit would require action beyond the town council itself. Proposals for Coursing Batch are expected to return for further consideration at the council's next ordinary meeting at 7 pm on Tuesday, 8 September.

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