Vehicles at 75mph near school 'will cause tragedy'

The stretch of road where speeds of 75mph were recorded

Residents fighting back against drivers speeding outside a Surrey primary school said they now had evidence of vehicles travelling at more than 70mph (112km/h) in the area.

A speed survey carried out in Rectory Lane, Byfleet, found more than 10,000 vehicles used the road in a week - with at least one hitting 75mph (120km/h).

Mark Fuller, who lives in Rectory Lane, said: "There's kids walking up and down to school, it's a tragedy waiting to happen, we can see that from the data."

Surrey County Council said the average speed of vehicles surveyed was 32mph (51km/h). It will meet with Surrey Police in March 2026 to decide if the road will be added to a list of "priority enforcement sites".

Rectory Lane is a residential street with a speed limit of 30mph (48km/h) and regularly has cars parked on both sides of the road. Along it are a church, primary school and village green.

Mr Fuller said he convinced the council to install a radar box to monitor the speeds motorists were travelling at, but now feels the authority is not acting on the results.

"We've got a speeding problem, there's individuals that do 75mph, so we're just waiting for an accident to happen," he said.

"I was shocked by the speeds that were recorded. I want the council to take it seriously, it's not good enough."

Matt Furniss, cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth at the council, said the safety of road users was one of its "key priorities".

He said: "We are of course very sympathetic to any concerns over speeding. We work closely with Surrey Police to investigate concerns and subsequently deploy speed survey devices to measure vehicle speeds.

"The speed data is combined with collision data to identify the sites with the worst problems and to then agree with the police which sites need the most attention and what we will do to tackle the problem.

"With regards to Rectory Lane in Byfleet, following concerns raised by residents we recently undertook a speed survey. This showed some speeding with mean speeds of 32mph (51km/h) in this 30mph speed limit zone.

"We are due to discuss these results with Surrey Police in March 2026 to consider whether this site is added to their list of priority enforcement sites."