LATE on Saturday, December 29 around 8pm there were two deaths due to a hit-and-run incident.

Two beloved cats from Venny Tedburn were found dead in the road; their injuries show that they were hit head on, which indicates that the suspect driver was driving too fast and did not give them time to get out of the way (which the cats were known for doing).

Now readers may think it is just another two animal deaths on a rural road but this brings up so much more to an angry hamlet whose human residents constantly have to fear walking around Venny Tedburn, due to speeding.

I, myself, remember when I first moved here. The road was quiet, my sister and I could go out walking, playing games on the road and occasionally hear and see a few cars drive through slowly. However, these days, with the popularity of the sat nav growing, Venny Tedburn has become a main road for what the locals call "The Sat Nav Generation".

The road is constantly being used by more and more people who just do not seem to realise that there are no pavements here, no street lights, no knowing what's round the next bend and nothing to warn idiotic speeders that they are on a rural road, driving through a populated hamlet full of children and animals.

Speaking to other locals in the hamlet I was angry to hear that other incidents have happened not too long ago and nothing is being done about it. One of them was when a young nanny said to have been clipped by a car when pushing a pram containing a baby.

Apparently, the car did not slow down or stop to allow them to get closer to the hedge but, instead, chose to carry on at full speed. When the vehicle hit the girl, the driver did not stop to check on the shaken-up girl but just continued on its journey.

Another incident was yet another hit-and-run on another cat who, after over a thousand pounds spent on by the owner, managed to survive the incident.

There are constant close shaves and stories to be told from each household in Venny Tedburn, but we are either unheard or simply not listened to by the council.

It doesn't seem to matter to drivers what they are driving, whether it's an articulated lorry, truck, van or car; they drive on this rural road obeying their sat nav on a road that was not designed to take the wear and tear of the amount of traffic that it seems to be attracting.

The road is taking a battering each year and with no money to be fixed, it will end up with more pot holes than road.

I observe and am astonished, daily, at the amount of vehicles that speed around this rural road, as if it is a one way racing rally track.

With up to 20 children and a number of animals in such a small hamlet, what will it take for cars to slow down? A death of a child?

The families of the two cats would like to thank the anonymous driver who was passing by, who stopped and rang door bells to find the owners of the cats.

Ben Metcalfe

Venny Tedburn

Crediton