(Image: T&A)
Three Bradford district roads, including the site of a fatal crash that claimed the life of an 18-year-old driver last year, have been identified as speeding hotspots by police.
This past week, the Telegraph & Argus was invited to join officers from the Baildon Neighbourhood Policing Team during a speed enforcement operation to see how they work.
2 motorists issued penalties
During the operation, officers checked the speeds of 33 vehicles.
31 were found to be complying with the speed limit, while two drivers were issued with fixed penalty notices for speeding offences.
Officers highlighted West Lane, Springfield Road and Moorgate as locations in Baildon where speeding concerns are regularly raised by residents.
Police officer using a speed detection device in Baildon. (Image: T&A)
Sergeant Paul Wharton said speeding remains one of the issues most commonly raised.
He said: "Speeding is a local priority for the Baildon area.
"When we go to contact points and speak to local residents, it's something that is regularly brought up."
Fatal crash remains fresh in residents' minds
Police say enforcement efforts have also been influenced by serious crashes in the area.
In December 2025, 18-year-old Sidney Stuart Brook died after the grey Ford Fiesta he was driving crashed into the garden of a property on West Lane in the early hours of the morning.
Sidney Brook (Image: West Yorkshire Police)
He was pronounced dead at the scene and a post-mortem examination later gave a preliminary cause of death as a head injury sustained in a road traffic collision.
West Yorkshire Police arrested three 18-year-old men and a 40-year-old in connection with the collision.
Speed detection equipment used by police during the operation. (Image: T&A)
'You've got to be really careful'
Sergeant Paul Wharton warned that speeding can have devastating consequences, particularly on roads used by a mixture of motorists and pedestrians.
He said: "You've got to be mindful, Baildon Moor is very, very busy.
"You've got golfers, you've got people out walking the dogs and stuff, so you've got to be really careful."
Sgt Wharton said drivers should think carefully about whether saving a few minutes on a journey is worth the risk.
He said: "I would always say to people, just keep your speed down.
"An extra five minutes getting somewhere, do you really need to go that extra speed?"
Police monitor vehicle speeds during checks in Baildon. (Image: T&A)
Police looking for more than speeding
While speeding was the focus of the operation, Sgt Wharton said officers are also alert to other offences when carrying out vehicle stops.
He said: "We obviously look out for other offences as well.
"One of the other things we're dealing with in Baildon particularly is the use of nitrous oxide.
"That's becoming a bit of a problem, not only in Baildon but across the whole of the district."
Officers can carry out further checks when vehicles are stopped, helping to detect a range of motoring and criminal offences.
Speed enforcement operation on a Baildon road. (Image: T&A)
How hotspot roads are identified
Sgt Wharton acknowledged officers cannot be on every road at all times, but said police use a variety of methods to identify locations where speeding is a recurring problem.
One of those initiatives is Community Speed Watch, which allows police staff and volunteers to monitor vehicle speeds and gather information about driver behaviour.
He said: "One of the things we do, as well as doing the speed enforcement, we do Community Speed Watch.
"If we identify that a particular area, a particular road, people are speeding quite a lot, then we'll get the enforcement team in and then we'll start issuing tickets."
The approach allows police to build a picture of where speeding is most prevalent before carrying out targeted enforcement campaigns.
Sgt Wharton said: "This isn't a one-off...My team regularly come out to the Baildon area, to the Shipley area, and we try and publicise the results of that to show people that we are doing something about it."