Work on a £350,000 road safety scheme in eastern Yeovil is to begin next month.

The scheme was announced about two months ago and will see a 20mph zone covering no less than 52 roads.

Various traffic calming measures will be installed in 23 roads as highway bosses clamp down hard on speeding, which has been a frequent problem in the area for a long time.

What has been labelled "terrible statistics" show that 24 children have been knocked down and injured in this part of town during the last five years.

The county council's executive board member with responsibility for highways, councillor Tom Carroll, said: "The introduction of traffic calming may add 60 seconds on to the average journey time along St Michael's Avenue - the main route through the residential area.

"However, this extra travel time will significantly reduce the risk of a child being injured."

There had been concerns that the scheme would lead to a reduced number of parking spaces in the Newton and Pen Mill areas, but highways officer Arminel Goodall denied this.

She said: "The designers of the scheme were extremely careful to ensure that no parking was lost, in response to local concerns.

"We have been able to achieve this - in fact, a small number of additional parking spaces has been created."

The time to put the scheme in place is expected to be five months.

Andy Williams of contractor Atkins said: "The work is bound to cause some disruption for local residents for a short while.

"But I hope they will bear with us and understand that in the end the aim is to create a much safer environment - especially for our children."

l The scheme is not only about speed limits and physical features.

Road safety officers have already visited Grass Royal School, for example, to get their message across.

Road safety officer Rina Cameron said: "It is of paramount importance that children are made aware of the dangers on roads.

"The training scheme we have developed aims to develop children's awareness of danger, and this will in the long-term prepare them for when they become independent and move on to secondary education."