Villagers demanding a road safety scheme will be asked if they are willing to pay at least £30,000 towards it.

Balcombe Parish Council has called a public meeting to decide what to do.

Residents called for action to cut speeding through the village, blaming hundreds of drivers pouring off a new slip road off the M23 to the north.

West Sussex County Council has offered to pay £30,000 towards traffic calming, but only if villagers match it.

The £30,000 contribution is £10,000 more than the council's annual budget.

A council spokesman said the cost could total £60,000 when interest and administration costs were added.

It would mean Balcombe villagers paying another £15 council tax for the next five years.

It is thought the final cost of the work recommended by safety experts might reach as high as £150,000.

The plans have sparked a debate between those who want to see the entire scheme implemented and those who believe it should be scaled down to save money.

Some villagers whose streets are unaffected said the money should not come from their local parish taxes.

Campaigner Neil Infield said: "It's a big meeting from our point of view. There are different feelings, even within the parish council. A significant minority of people we asked felt we should pay."

Some think the traffic-calming measures might increase pollution from stop-start driving.

The meeting will decide if a scaled-down scheme should be introduced.

An independent report commissioned by the council revealed up to 100 cars a day drive at more than 50mph on a 30mph road outside a village school.

It led to villagers presenting the authority with a 160-name petition asking for traffic calming.

The meeting takes place in the village hall at 8pm on Thursday.