RESIDENTS in Darlington are petitioning the council to slow down racing traffic on their estate to protect their children.

Christopher Noble, of Moulton Way, is hoping to collect at least 40 signatures from residents in the Lascelles Park area to send to Darlington Borough Council.

The residents are fed-up with cars and motorbikes speeding around the estate.

They also claim vehicles drive through short-cuts in the estate, despite bollards being in place to prevent them.

Mr Noble said: "So many children play outside their homes because parents don't feel safe letting them go on to the park-land alone.

"But they are worried about the number of vehicles that drive along these roads and across the grass with no regard for the people who live here."

Tyre marks are apparent on the grass where cars and motorbikes have taken shortcuts to avoid driving around the estate.

Beverley Wray lives on Moulton Way and is one of many parents who have signed the petition.

She said: "Many of the children play on the stretches of grass alongside the roads outside the homes."

A new £40,000 play park was in the process of being installed in the area between Lascelles Park and Eastbourne Park last May but the council were forced to remove the new equipment after it was damaged by vandals.

Joanne Atkinson, who also lives on Moulton Way, has signed the petition after a car nearly knocked down her three-year-old son Aaron.

She said: "For the safety of the children and all the residents there should be ramps to slow down the drivers."

A spokesman for Darlington Borough Council said: "There are about 40-50 sites across the borough where residents have requested safety measures.

"Residents should appreciate that safety measures are complex and because our budget is limited we must prioritise."