Jump in drivers caught by speed camera

Herefordshire’s only fixed speed camera clocked nearly 3,000 speeding offences in the year to December, including one driver travelling at 73 miles per hour in the 30mph zone.

The camera on the A465 Belmont Road, Hereford, detected 2,982 “viable offences” between December 1, 2020, and November 30, 2021.

Equating to more than eight drivers caught every day, the figure is up 24 per cent from the 2,406 recorded in the previous year.

Not all of these resulted in a Notice of Intended Prosecution being sent to drivers. West Mercia Police said it did not hold information on how many of those drivers paid the resulting fine.

“West Mercia Police do not currently have the ability to break down the number of people who chose to pay the fine by site,” its spokesperson said.

While alarming, the 73mph top speed recorded was down some way from the highest speed recorded in the previous year, which was 89mph.

The device was installed four years ago opposite the entrance to the Three Counties Hotel.