THE Government is being urged to introduce a blanket 30mph speed limit for all villages after a survey revealed 70% of county councils have no such policy.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) found some villages still have 60mph speed limits and some highway authorities do not know how many villages there are in their areas.

The organisation wants an amendment to the Road Safety Bill for a national default 30mph speed limit in villages, saying this would remove the need for costly and time-consuming signs and speed-change requests.

It says authorities pay about £6,000 each time they introduce a lower limit in a village.

Paul Hamblin, CPRE’s head of transport policy, said: ‘We know lower speeds save lives and make places less threatening.

‘The waiting list for villages needing help from speeding traffic is unacceptable.’