Speed camera switch-off attacked

Road safety charity Brake has condemned a decision to turn off speed cameras in Avon and Somerset as a "disgrace".

Fixed cameras stopped working this week after road safety budget cuts led to funding being withdrawn from the area's safety camera partnership.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary will now use a team of six mobile vans to enforce speed limits.

A statement from the police said they offered "the greatest flexibility in tackling excess speed".

The force said it would now work with other organisations "on a wide range of other road safety initiatives".

"Improving road safety remains a high priority for all the partners despite the challenging spending cuts," the force added.

A spokeswoman from Brake said the move was a "terrible betrayal of communities that rely" on speed cameras.

The spokeswoman added: "We know speed cameras are good at slowing down vehicles. They are proved to work and are cost effective - more so than police at the roadside."

Bristol and Bath and North East Somerset councils have not yet made a decision over the future use of fixed cameras.

Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils have already taken the decision to pull funding from the cameras.

The area's safety camera partnership, made up of the local councils and the police, was disbanded as a result.

Avon and Somerset Police are currently tendering for a new operator for the programme but it could be months before the replacement is in place.