ESSEX Police has installed a monitoring device on one of the busiest roads in the east of the borough to see if they need to start enforcing speed restrictions.

Residents in the London Road area of Stanford-le-Hope were mystified when a team arrived and installed a closed black box on a street light close to the junction with Caldwell Road and asked Thurrock Nub New to investigate.

The first train of thought was that is was connected to Thurrock Council's recent implementation of traffic calming measures on the road which has involved the creation of speed humps and a new 20mph restriction.

The scheme is supposed to be temporary and a final decision on its success is said set to be arrived at after consultation with residents – says the council.

However, when asked about the black box, a spokesperson said the box wasn't the council's, saying: "It is a traffic monitoring device which has been temporarily installed by Essex Police."

That was confirmed by the police who said: "It is a speed monitoring device installed to capture the volume and speed of traffic over a period of a week.

"The data provided through these systems will then be used to determine whether there is a need to speed enforce the route on a regular basis."