Clutching at straws? Police mocked over plan to teach villagers how to build scarecrows as cut-price crackdown on speeding motorists

By JAMES TOZER, NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT Published: 17:17, 18 August 2026 | Updated: 17:21, 18 August 2026 Police have been mocked for advertising a scarecrow-making workshop in response to calls from villagers for a crackdown on speeding. Residents of Aughton in Lancashire have spent years calling for action, and tragically in 2024 a teenager driving at over the speed limit lost control of his car and crashed into a wall, killing his young friend. So there was incredulity when the local neighbourhood policing team announced the outcome of its search for ‘new and inventive ways to reduce speeding’ on rural lanes. After speaking with residents and councillors, they informed locals that the ‘most receptive’ idea was scarecrows. Officers said they had already sourced straw and timber, but needed a community effort to turn the plan into reality. Asking for locals to bring ‘bright clothing, cardboard and paint for signs’, they have arranged a workshop at a local nature reserve at the end of August. Here, they said ‘we will be constructing the scarecrows and creating SLOW DOWN signs to place at approved areas’. ‘This is also a great opportunity to speak to local officers and other residents in the area,’ a Facebook post from Ormskirk and Rural West Lancs Police said. Parish councillor Edie Pope made this scarecrow of a police officer carrying a fake speed gun to fool motorists into slowing down through the nearby village of Lydiate in 2019 The Facebook post by Ormskirk and Rural West Lancs Police which sparked mockery ‘Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided as [a] thank you to all the community.’ The plan appears to have been inspired by the success of Speedo, an undercover scarecrow dressed as a police officer armed with a homemade speed camera which hit the headlines when it was created by parish councillor Edie Pope just two miles away in Lydiate in 2019. However some Aughton locals reacted with horror that the police themselves were resorting to such measures, condemning the idea as a ‘sick joke’ and an ‘absolute insult’. It comes after Max Greenhouse, 17, died when a Vauxhall Corsa being driven by Joe McCaldon lost control and smashed into a wall in nearby Clieves Hills in December 2024, also injuring two other passengers. McCaldon, who was also then just 17 and had passed his test six days earlier, was driving at 57mph or more in a 40mph zone and lost control at a bend. Three months ago he was sentenced to four years' detention after being convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. In response, Justine Sleight, who is involved in a campaign by Max’s family to educate young, inexperienced drivers, posted: ‘A 17-year-old boy has lost his life. ‘His family and friends will live with that loss forever. And the response to concerns about speeding is scarecrows? Max Greenhouse, 17, died on Fir Tree Lane near Aughton (pictured) - locals are now campaigning for traffic-calming measures  Former parish councillor Edie Pope (pictured with Speedo in 2019) believes scarecrows can help tackle speeders - but warns that ones made from straw are liable to be trashed ‘I appreciate that residents and volunteers are trying to help, but this cannot be considered a serious road-safety measure by the people who can actually make decisions to help the very serious situation. ‘Clieves Hills needs proper, enforceable action to reduce speeding — not scarecrows and cardboard signs. ‘How many more tragedies have to happen before meaningful measures are put in place?’ Caroline Harrison replied: ‘Couldn’t agree more, this is an absolute insult. ‘I am one of those families that have lost a young person on this road and you think that making a scarecrow is going to deter people speeding. ‘I’m absolutely disgusted, maybe police and the judicial system should do their job, give out stronger sentences, give a longer ban, put more money into policing the road, not do an art and craft night for the locals!’ Christina May posted: ‘When you say “we will be constructing,” do you mean actual on duty police officers? ‘Could this be a hazardous distraction to drivers?’ And Chris Wood wrote: ‘This has got to be some sort of sick joke.’ John Waugh, chairman of Aughton Parish Council, said he had been ‘aghast’ to learn about the scarecrow workshop. ‘You really couldn’t make it up,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘It feels like the police are treating a major local problem with disdain. ‘We need proper traffic calming measures otherwise I fear it’s only a matter of time before we see another terrible tragedy.’ Following repeated attacks by vandals, Speedo the camera-wielding scarecrow is no more. But her creator, Mrs Pope, backs the Aughton plan – with one reservation. ‘While Speedo was there, she did a great job,’ she said today. ‘Traffic was definitely slower. ‘All I would say is not to use straw, because people just pulled the arms and legs off. ‘What made a big difference was when someone donated a shop window dummy that I was able to dress up in a high-vis jacket.’ A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said: ‘You may think we are clutching at straws supporting this community initiative, however keeping people safe on our roads is a priority. ‘Alongside other standard practices, like the community speed watch and mobile speed cameras, we are committed to engaging with and supporting our local communities who feel as passionately as we do about tackling speeding and dangerous driving.’