Problems with speeding and anti-social driving in Penrith were addressed in a joint operation involving the town’s neighbourhood police team and Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service.
Officers moved to act on community concerns as one of the main issues raised by the public in the town is worries people have over driving.
The team covering Penrith had been contacted by the fire service, offering road awareness training to educate drivers on the dangers of the road.
This training, held at Penrith Fire Station, covers the risks in factors such as speeding, tiredness, drink and drug driving and not wearing seat belts.
Ten people attended the fire station for the training on Monday – the night of the operation.
The fire service training also included personal stories of incidents firefighters had attended.
Sergeant Jack Stabler said: “This is a good example of both the partnership work we do with other agencies for the good of the community and the work the neighbourhood policing team does all-year-round – responding to community concerns.
“We have had a number of reports of anti-social driving and we decided to launch this operation to tackle the issue.
“Education is a key way to tackle this type of behaviour as sometimes people just do not realise the impact of their actions or the possible consequences. Education also prevents future problems.
“We’d like to thank Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service for joining us and playing a crucial part in these efforts to keep Penrith’s roads as safe as possible.”
Among those who took part in the training were a group of young drivers who had not committed any offences.
Officers spoke to them while on patrol to see if they would like to gain some extra awareness of the dangers while they were out – and they all said they wanted to attend.
Sgt Stabler added: “They were all positive about the training and it provided a good opportunity to get across our messages.”
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