Arson-hit speed Telford speed camera may not be replaced

A controversial speed camera in Telford that was set on fire by arsonists last month may not be replaced, safety chiefs have said today.

The attack on the camera in Bennetts Bank, Wellington, on July 22, was the fourth since it was put up.

West Mercia's Safer Roads Partnership said a decision now needed to be taken by Telford & Wrekin Council on the future of the camera.

Spokeswoman Katy Jenkins said: "We are in the process of preparing a full report on the camera in Bennetts Bank, which we will be sending off to the council.

"After that it will be very much up to them as to how they want to proceed. They could decide not to replace the camera and instead look at mobile enforcement via speed camera vans."

The camera was set alight by vandals who threw a tyre doused in petrol over the top of it.

Safety bosses admitted a few days afterwards that the camera and film inside it had been totally destroyed as a result of the attack, meaning people potentially got away with speeding offences in the days immediately before it was gutted.

Miss Jenkins urged drivers to stick to the speed limit on the road while the decision on the camera was being taken by the council

The camera in Bennetts Bank has been attacked three times before - in one incident, a motorist sliced it in half with an industrial circular saw.

The camera was introduced due to the "collision and casualty history on the road and a demonstrated speed problem".

Miss Jenkins said in Telford & Wrekin there had been a 33 per cent reduction in "personal injury" collisions and a 77 per cent reduction in "killed or seriously injured" collisions at camera sites in the borough.