VIDEO: Notts woman who uses hairdryer as fake speed gun goes viral online

Jean Brooks stands outside her Hucknall home, pointing a hairdryer at passing motorists so they think she's using a speed gun.

And she says drivers then often slow down.

The 64-year-old contacted BBC Radio Nottingham, who went and filmed her with her hairdryer at her home on St Mary's Way, and in less than 24 hours, the video had more than 12 million views.

A family tragedy spurred Jean into action, when after the death of her son-in-law, she threw herself into fundraising for Marie Curie Cancer Care, and created a cafe in the front garden of her home.

And it was while she spent time in her garden she noticed the problem with speeding vehicles.

"I remembered a friend told me about something she had heard of in France," she said. "Someone got their hairdryer and pointed it at the cars and they slowed down. So I thought I'll do that."

And she added: "I was listening to the radio and they were talking about these kids who were riding around on bikes. They asked if anyone had got a solution for it and I phoned up and said 'I've sorted it - I use my hairdryer'.

"This street is the main road onto the estate so it is busy, and it's also used a school drop-off point. They come up on their scooters and quadbikes showing off to the sixth form girls, acting like a male bird of paradise.

"It's all, 'look no hands' but it will soon be 'look, no teeth'.

"One of my daughters called me up and said I'd gone viral. I thought 'I don't have a virus' but she told me what she meant. My grieving daughter has seen it and it made her laugh.

"I've made my road safer for kids and I've made my grieving daughter smile. You can't put a price on that."

Jean said she just wants to bring the community closer together - whether it is through a hairdryer or through a cup of tea.

"We need to bring community spirit back," she said. "Back in the 50s and 60s people would do anything for anyone when we were getting over the war - and that's what we need to get back."