AN initial 10 schools are being allowed to apply to slow down traffic to 20mph outside Warrington's schools.

Long-awaited plans to curb motorists' speed outside educational establishments are now moving ahead.

Education chiefs have already given their full backing to the move, which has been anticipated by the borough council since early 1999.

Road accident rates in Warrington are a recognised problem, with the town regarded as among the worst in the north west.

In the first phase of the scheme 10 schools will be selected, from across the borough, to take part.

Before schools are then included a survey will take place of road conditions and driver behaviour.

A Town Hall spokesman said it was hoped that the first schemes would be in place by later this year.

The success of the initiative will be assessed before it is extended to cover more primary schools, the spokesman added.

If a school is successful, a 500-metre stretch will be designated as a 20mph zone around-the-clock and seven days a week, which would cover both classes and after-school activities.

Research conducted by the borough council shows that the only two existing 20mph zones in operation have had mixed results.

A crackdown along Lodge Lane, Bewsey, has been described as ineffective by the area's residents association.

The council says that a similar zone in Bridge Lane, Appleton, where speed humps where introduced alongside 20mph curbs, has been a success.

But residents are less than convinced - they say buses have refused to use the same stretch of Bridge Lane since the humps were installed.