Wiltshire traffic vigilante fools drivers with dummy

A villager once injured in a fatal car crash has recruited a life-like dummy to try to slow down speeding drivers.

The mannequin, called Wilson, has been dressed to look like a traffic officer as he patrols Rushall, in Wiltshire.

Owner John Winskill, a retired army major, was injured when the support vehicle he was driving was involved in a fatal crash in the 2013 Dakar rally.

He said: "When you experience that life changing moment and live through that trauma, the trauma doesn't leave you."

Mr Winskill was taking part in a charity event and said that "tragically the vehicle I was driving was hit by a local taxi that was going too fast".

"Speed was definitely an aspect of that collision," he added.

Mr Winskill explained that he was determined to do something about road safety in his village.

Narrow pavements mean that residents have to "take their life in their hands with the speed of traffic that runs through".

"When Wilson's on patrol it has definitely made a difference," he said.

The village of Rushall has a 30mph (48 km/h) speed limit but is a popular route between Marlborough and Devizes.

Wilson, although inanimate, stands at an intimidating 6ft 6in (200cm) tall and is often strapped to a telephone pole.

Mr Winskill said that he did not have time to patrol the village himself every day, so he "needed a stand-in".

He said he looked for a mannequin that would be "fully moveable, not too cheesy and look real".

"His face was blank so we had to get a rubber mask," he said.

Wilson is on shift a couple of hours a day, twice a week.

"We've had a few people talk to him," Mr Winskill said.

"There was a woman who stopped beside Wilson and I could hear her calling to him though her passenger window.

"When I went out and told her he was a mannequin, she said she thought he was just being very rude."

Wiltshire Police told the BBC that Wilson was not impersonating an officer and that based on the evidence at hand, no offences had been committed.

Mr Winskill added: "Nowhere on Wilson does it say 'police' and Wilson is only ever placed on private land."

Off-duty, Wilson lives in Mr Winskill's garage but can be spotted around the village moonlighting in other roles.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]