THE future of a dozen lifesaving schemes which slow drivers across Hampshire is in the balance, after receiving backing from two charities.

Roads bosses are preparing to decide whether 20mph speed limits will stay in 12 towns and villages.

It comes after road safety charities the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and Brake backed a campaign to bring 20mph limits to residential streets across Southampton, as reported by the Daily Echo.

Conservative Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith is urging Southampton City Council to bring in the scheme. He has launched a petition which he will present to parliament next month if it gains enough support from the community.

If it gets the go ahead, the scheme would affect smaller residential streets including those home to schools and parks and not the main routes and through-roads, which would stay at their current speeds.

But many Hampshire towns, villages and streets who are taking part in a trial of the scheme run by Hampshire County Council have already decided 20 is plenty.

Lower speed limits have been put in place in Wallington in Fareham; streets surrounding Cherbourg Road in Eastleigh; Stanmore in Winchester; Chilbolton, near Stockbridge; Hythe in the New Forest; Floral Way in Andover; Whitchurch and Dummer in Basingstoke; Medstead in East Hampshire; and Rushmoor and Hart near Farnborough.

Micheldever in Winchester is also due to have its speeds reduced.

But these pilots, which were put in place between 2013 and 2015 after consultations with residents, are coming to an end and this summer the council will decide whether they are here to stay.

The council’s roads chief Cllr Seàn Woodward said they would look at whether the number of road casualties have been reduced while also consulting residents again on whether they felt the scheme had made a difference.

If the majority prove to be a success more 20mph areas could be rolled out across Hampshire to combat speeding in accident blackspots.

Cllr Woodward said: “These schemes are currently planned to be assessed in 2016 to see what benefits lower speed limits give to local residents. The results of this assessment will play a part in the future County Council policy for 20mph speed limits.

“20mph limits aren’t new, they’ve been used for many years and the county council decided to do a trial of a dozen or so schemes to see if they were a good thing to do and whether they have an impact.

“The general feeling is they are a good thing but of course the only way to know for sure is to do a trial.

“What we decided to do is put the schemes in place, pilot them for at least a year then have another consultation.”

The schemes came after Portsmouth became the first place in the UK to have a city-wide 20mph speed limit in residential streets in 2007 and 2008.

Despite mixed reviews from residents, statistics show around a 20 per cent reduction in road accidents and a 1.3mph drop in speeds from an average of 19.8mph to 18.5mph.