News in brief

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Thousands of new homes vetoed by planners

Cambridgeshire county planners have rejected plans to build 18,000 new homes along the Peterborough-Cambridge-Stansted corridor.

They are calling on the government to scrap proposals for a new town near Waterbeach.

The planners argue there is no evidence that sufficient new jobs will be created to support development on such a scale.

Concern was also raised that the county's infrastructure would not be able to cope with the new homes.

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New 50mph limit is one A14 option

The introduction of a 50mph speed limit is among the ideas being considered to improve safety on the A14.

Cambridgeshire's Chief Constable Tom Lloyd was driven along the road on Monday to see what improvements can be made.

Bill Wadrup, of the Highways Agency, said they intended to look closely at how fast traffic moves on the busy trunk road.

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High-tech safety signs

Interactive signs will be installed on a bend near Ely to warn drivers to slow down.

Work on the £55,000 scheme to improve safety at the Shippea Hill bend on the A1101 is due to start on Monday.

The bend has been the scene of eight accidents between January 1999 to January 2004.

The high-tech chevron signs will flash in sequence if motorists approach the bend too fast.

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Police probe after axe damage

Police in St Neots are investigating an unusual case of criminal damage in which an axe was thrown through a window.

It happened at a house in Ashfield on Monday 30 August at about 0035BST, but details have only just been released.

Pc Ben Newton said: "Luckily no-one was injured as a result of this incident, however, it could have quite easily been a different matter."

He appealed for any witnesses to contact the police.

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Signs of the times

Signs are being installed on the A14 and A142 to reduce the amount of theft from vehicles parked at lay-bys.

The 20 signs, which cost £2,000, are in five different languages - English, French, Spanish, German and Dutch - to warn lorry drivers across Europe of the dangers of theft.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said: "The purpose of the signs is to tell any would-be criminal that the police will be operating in that area."

Sixteen signs will be installed along the A14 corridor in both directions and four along the A142 on Thursday.