A 20-year-old who set up life-like mannequins of children to slow down drivers passing through her village has been named as a road safety hero by police.

Erin Langdale came up with the idea as part of a series of traffic calming measures in Middlestone Village, County Durham.

She was concerned about speeding on the B6287, located between Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor, so she set up a road safety group.

One of its first initiatives was to buy a family of mannequins which were then dressed by village children to look as realistic as possible.

Positioned in prominent positions throughout the village, the dolls make drivers aware that children might be playing, and so encourage them to slow down to the 30mph limit.

The group has also held a poster competition and lobbied Durham County Council and Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen.

Now Miss Langdale, a letting agent, has been named a police road safety hero in recognition of her efforts.

She stressed it was a group effort, and said: “We have other plans going forward to help reduce speeding and look forward to working with the police and council on these.”

Inspector Kevin Salter, of Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit, said: “Erin is clearly very passionate about road safety and she should be very proud of her achievement.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen said: “Erin has carried out some excellent initiatives to promote road safety encouraging drivers to slow down and reduce their speed.”