Speed camera fund cut 'reckless'

Wiltshire Police says it may rely on mobile cameras to enforce speed limits

Safety campaign groups and an MP have criticised a local authority's decision to stop funding fixed speed cameras in Swindon.

The Wiltshire town's borough council said £320,000 it pays annually towards fixed cameras would be better spent on warning signs and better lighting.

It has given six months' notice of its decision to the camera partnership.

Department for Transport figures show most collisions in the UK are not due to speeding, the council said.

During the notice period the cameras will continue to operate as normal.

Brake said it "wholeheartedly opposed this reckless decision".

"In removing its [funding for] speed cameras [the council] is entering into a very dangerous experiment with people's lives," spokeswoman Jane Whitham said.

Cameras should be used alongside other measures such as greater police enforcement if that is the right solution for the area. Roger Vincent, Rospa

"Staying well within speed limits is essential for everyone's safety and cameras are an important tool in catching drivers who insist on breaking the law and putting lives in danger."

The council is believed to be the first in England to withdraw funding for fixed cameras, which are run by the Wiltshire and Swindon Safety Camera Partnership.

There are currently three fixed-speed cameras in Swindon and 13 mobile sites.

The authority said the number of people killed or seriously injured on Swindon's roads had begun to rise in the last two years and new strategies were needed.

Peter Greenhalgh, the Tory councillor who proposed the idea, said annual figures from the Department for Transport published in September showed that just 6% of collisions had been caused by people breaking speed limits.

But nearly all the government's road safety money was being invested in speed cameras, he added.

Police enforcement

"I can see that's wrong and I think the people of this country can see that's wrong," Mr Greenhalgh said

Deputy Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, David Ainsworth, said the force may increasingly use hand-held, mobile speed cameras to enforce the law.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) said speed cameras in areas with genuine accident problems were part of a proven package for reducing road casualties.

Spokesman Roger Vincent said: "Speed cameras have been proved effective in reducing casualties and should be part of an overall speed reduction strategy.

"Cameras should be used alongside other measures, such as greater police enforcement, if that is the right solution for the area.

"If changes are made in Swindon the situation needs to be closely monitored to see what lessons can be learned."

South Swindon Labour MP Anne Snelgrove said: "I am on the side of Wiltshire police in this debate - they know more about road safety than Swindon's Conservative councillors."