A DIY patrol to catch speeding rat-run drivers has the power to dish out warnings and fines.

People in Woodingdean are manning points on 11 city roads where cars driving between main roads take cut-throughs to avoid queues.

Under the Speedwatch scheme drivers caught speeding on camera by residents will receive police warnings and risk fines.

The Woodingdean Local Action Team - designed to bring residents’ concerns to the police’s and city council’s notice - has been given the camera by Sussex Police.

Teams of three specially-trained residents are using the kit on different roads, times and days of the week to snare drivers using small roads to avoid traffic lights and congestion on Falmer Road.

Drivers caught breaking the speed limit once will receive a written warning from the police.

The second time they will receive a final warning but they risk penalty points and a fine if caught a third time.

Organiser David Hodgson, of Langley Crescent, Woodingdean, said: “The idea is to discourage people from speeding through Woodingdean.

“We are hoping people getting the letters will moderate their behaviour and slow down a little bit.”

Residents have reported people breaking the speed limit by as much as 20mph.

At the scheme’s launch on Friday, the fastest car recorded was doing 30mph - but organisers believe the sight of the police and several people in yellow jackets meant drivers slowed down anyway.

The Ridgway, Downs Valley Road, Bexhill Road and Cowley Drive are among 11 roads where the camera can be used.

Sussex Police have so far trained 14 residents to use the equipment, which uses a laser to read cars’ speed.

Conservative councillor Dee Simson, who represents Woodingdean on Brighton and Hove City Council, said several pet cats have been killed by drivers weaving through the rat-runs.

She said the point of the camera is to make people slow down, rather than dish out fines.

She said: “It is not there as a money-making thing.

“It is there as a deterent to stop people speeding in the village.”

Other groups in neighbourhoods across the city and Sussex are thought to be planning their own initiatives.

Coun Simson said: “It is the first one in the city. “This is a classic example of how local action teams can work to bring their concerns to the council and the police.

“There are other neighbourhoods that are hoping to launch their own initiatives.”

The introduction of the Speedwatch scheme in Woodingdean took 10 months to achieve. Exact times, dates and locations of the speed patrols are being kept under wraps.

It follows Speedwatch schemes elsewhere in Sussex, including Ringmer, near Lewes, Buxted, near Crowborough, and East Grinstead.

Sergeant James Davidson of Sussex Police said: "Drivers can sometimes race through this area with no thought for the impact on the local residents or the dangers they pose to themselves and other road users.

“The overall aims of the scheme is to reduce death and injury on our roads and to improve the quality of life for local communities by reducing the speed of vehicles to the speed limit and increasing public awareness of inappropriate speed."

To take part in the scheme contact Mr Hodgson by email at d.c.hodgson@btinternet.com, call Sgt Davidson on 0845 6070999 or email james.davidson@sussex.pnn.police.uk.

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