POLICE in Woodford claim a new speed gun has helped scare burglars away from the area.

Officers have used the £3,000 device to stop more than 120 drivers since receiving it six months ago, issuing 50 tickets in the process, but Sgt George Roughley of Woodford police, believes it has also made other criminals think twice.

He said: "The purpose of the gun is obviously to catch speeding motorists, but its effect has been far more wide reaching than just that.

"When residents call us to say there is a speeding problem down their roads we send a group of up to eight officers out with the gun.

"This scares a lot of potential burglers and other criminals off because they know that any vehicle they are travelling in could be stopped at any time."

Sgt Roughley says officers using the gun have met with a positive reaction from local residents who, he believes, appreciate seeing more police on the beat.

He said: "People have been calling for more high visibility policing in Woodford for some time, and the sight of groups of officers using the speed gun has reassured a lot of them.

"We have been approached by a number of residents who have thanked us for what we are doing."

Valerie Geller of Charteris road, Woodford, a victim of burglary in the past, backed these claims but called on the police to maintain a bigger presence on the streets, with or without the speed gun.

She said: "Having been burgled myself I am happy that the police are out and about using this gun because it means someone is on the streets keeping an eye on things.

"But, like most other Woodford residents, I would like to see more bobbies on the beat at all times."

Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Adam Goode, is one of several officers who believe the gun, which uses a laser to record the speed of moving vehicles, should be backed up by permanent speed cameras on Woodford's busiest roads.

He said: "The speed gun has had a good impact whenever we've used it, but we can't be everywhere at once and permanent cameras would ensure drivers are always having to watch their speed."