SPEEDING motorists clocked near schools will be able to avoid points on their licence by opting for a lecture from pupils.

Children will provide drivers with a hard-hitting lesson in road safety as part of a new campaign to persuade people to slow down.

It is being piloted in the Stanley area of County Durham and the sessions will be led by members of Durham Constabulary’s Mini Police.

Sergeant Dave Clarke, of Stanley Police, said: “We are going to have a trial of it and you can either have a ticket or go and speak to some school children, who will explain the dangers.

“It is a restorative approach done by our Mini Police and will be across several of our primary schools.

“It might be harder hitting to many people, being appealed to by the people who you could affect. They are the children of that primary school and it might hit home.”

The offer will only be made if drivers are only a couple of miles per hour over the limit in a 20 or 30 zone.

Motorists committing serious speeding breaches will be hit with three penalty points and a £100 fine.

Sgt Clarke said: “At the end of the day nobody wants to fine people.

“We are not about that as an organisation. We are about keeping people safe, not about making money.

“That is just a by-product of the punitive options that are open to us. If we can save one life then it is worth it.”

The scheme is a part the Community United in Road Safety Initiative (CURSI) which is being unveiled in Stanley next month.

CURSI also involves volunteers from the community manning speed guns to catch people driving too fast in speed hotspots.

Drivers caught by members of the public will not face prosecution, but will be sent a warning let by the police.

Anyone who receives three warning letters will be visited by a police officer to discuss their driving habits with them.

The initiative will also see police working with the fire and ambulance services to recreate accidents in schools so young people can learn about what really happens when there is a serious car crash.

County Durham has no fixed speed cameras, but police have said there will be more mobile camera vans and officers with hand held speed monitoring devices as part of the initiative.

Police Service Volunteer John Ullathorne, 35, who has won awards for road safety schemes with the RAF, has helped devise the initiative.

He said: “Speeding is a priority in Stanley, and at schools in particular. This scheme is about education in areas that are hot spots and is the first of its kind in the country. It is really big for the area.”