Cumbria unit catches speeding drivers

Main routes into Carlisle were targeted

More than 1,700 drivers have been caught speeding by a special unit set up by police in north Cumbria.

The two-month experiment has also reduced the number of people injured on the roads.

The Speed Complaints Team was set up in the county at the beginning of October.

It targeted routes where there had been a lot of collisions, or where residents had expressed concerns about vehicles travelling too fast.

These included the main routes into and out of Carlisle, and the A6 and A66 near Penrith.

Sophisticated speed detection equipment was used to catch speeding drivers.

Early results also show that the average speed of vehicles on these roads has slowed down and the number of reported collisions has decreased.