Fewer than one in five local councils has introduced 30mph speed limits in villages in line with Government policy.

A green group report has revealed that authorities still rely largely on old-fashioned approaches to road safety.

The Council for the Protection of Rural England said the Government must do more to ensure 30mph speed limits become the norm for villages.

Entitled Village Speedometer, the report showed that only 17 per cent of authorities surveyed had imposed the 30mph limits.

There was also insufficient priority given to enforcement of lower speed limits by the police and a lack of a target date for the introduction of the 30mph limits.

Paul Hamblin, the CPRE's senior transport officer, said: "Speeding traffic is a huge problem in many English villages, yet our survey shows that the majority of villages are seeing little improvement.

"Local authorities have been found to be lack-lustre in their response. Too many continue to focus only on accident black pots and ignore the wider problems caused by speed."