A WOMAN has turned to one of the most notorious incidents in Forest of Dean history in a bid to get motorists to slow down.

Penny Ballinger has erected a “Beware of the Bears” sign outside her Drybrook home – a nod to the controversy over the killing of two bears in a travelling fair in 1889.

She says her property has been damaged by three vehicle smashes in four years, and has asked for the 40mph speed limit to be reduced to 30mph.

Penny blames the crashes on cars accelerating through spring water on a 25-metre stretch of Morse Road which is “always wet”.

And she hopes the bear signs will encourage drivers to “look and think about what they're doing.”

''I‘ll stand out there with a bear forever to get this issue sorted!“ she said.

“The route down the hill is where people take their kids to school – we're very lucky a parent and child hasn't been killed. Will it take a fatality to do something about it?

“They've actually sort of put us off by saying they aren't going to put a road hazard sign up, and they can't reduce the speed limit because it would cost them £15,000, as they would have to survey people to see if people want it.

“It seems a bit stupid to me! There's a culvert at the bottom of the road that doesn't fully empty, so the drains are constantly blocking.

“And whilst they can do temporary measures, they actually haven't addressed the problem in the long term – it's always the same short stretch of road where accidents occur because cars hit the wet road surface, whether its speeding or on black ice, and crash.

“The most important thing is getting the road safe, but much like the bear incident, no one seems to be talking about it.

“The highways don't want to put a hazards sign up – so a hazardous bear sign might be the solution.

“It really involves highways to take this problem seriously.

“At the moment they don't even talk about road hazards unless someone has been killed."

Two road smashes damaged Penny's garden wall, her car, a neighbour’s car and a telegraph pole which left her with no internet.

“Even though bears can't be relied upon to stop the speed – they do cause a bit of a fuss.

“This problem merits a permanent sign, speed reduction and some monitoring and police involvement to make sure there isn't speeding. The council have to be more accountable.”

Gloucestershire Council (GCC) said it plans to address the issue this year after installing a roadside drain.

Joe Harris, Cabinet member for highways , said some natural spring issues had been addressed, and more work will take place.

He told the BBC: "The road does not meet current criteria for a speed reduction, but please be assured we are paying close attention to the situation, which we appreciate is frustrating for residents."

The attack on four Frenchmen and their two dancing bears in Ruardean 136 years ago became a sensational international story at the time, with 12 local men fined at Littledean Police Court.