Portsmouth goes to city-wide 20mph zones

• 20mph zone in city's south-east begins today
• Whole city to be 20mph by end of year
• City wants to cut accidents by half

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Portsmouth is the latest city to implement 20mph speed zones - but it claims it will be the first to have a blanket 20mph zone over all its residential streets.

Salisbury, Bournemouth, Oxford, Hull and many other towns and cities already have such zones, and many others, including Edinburgh, have them in the pipeline.

Beginning in the south-east of the city today, the zones will be extended to residential streets throughout Portsmouth before the end of the year.

Department for Transport research shows that for each mile per hour the speed limit drops, the frequency of accidents goes down by five per cent, so the city is hoping the move will cut accidents by around half.

According to the council, the majority of residents favoured the government-funded plan. Traffic surveys will be carried out after six and 12 months, and if speeds have not fallen, the council will ask residents whether they want further measures taken.

Although the council has said the scheme will be self-enforcing, the road policing boss for Hampshire, Superintendent Mark Bradford, has said the force has already spent £30,000 on a van fitted with speed cameras to catch speeders in the city and its surroundings.