BRidstow resident Debbie Ansell has called on the authorities to enforce speed restrictions in the village after she witnessed the horrific death of a mother cat and at least one of her kittens.

Bridstow residents fought for a long time to have 30mph signs erected in the village. But it seems some drivers are continuing to ignore them. One villager, whose house fronts on to the road, is now imploring drivers to slow down after witnessing the impact of a speeding driver.

Debbie Ansell was in her garden on Monday evening at around 6.30pm feeding her chickens. When a cat and her four kittens which Debbie had been caring for, emerged from their shelter and attempted to cross the road she could only stand and watch as a car ploughed into them.

Debbie told the Ross Gazette:?"I saw the car speeding past, significantly over the speed limit, and it ploughed straight into the cats."

Visibly shaken, Debbie described how one kitten was flung into the air, the others scattered in all directions, and the mother's body was still attached to the back of the retreating car. "I am so angry," she told the Gazette. "The car didn't even attempt to stop, or slow down. And there was a child in the back of the car."

The road is straight so even if he had not been able to stop in time she said he should at least have been able to slow down. And the driver showed no compassion after the event only making an obscene gesture.

The concern, added Debbie, is that there is a child's creche and a school crossing just down the road. She said:?"There is a speed limit for a reason."

Two of the kittens sought refuge in a thorny hedge in her garden and Debbie, covered in scratches, managed, after some considerable time, to get them out.

They are, she estimates, about two or three weeks old as they still have their eyes closed and they need feeding every two hours. Fortunately, a cat rescue centre in Newent has taken them in and is hand rearing them.