Drivers are set to claim back £3m in speed camera bungle
FIFTY thousand drivers could claim back millions of pounds in fines – because a speed camera has been illegally flashing them for 10 years.
The blunder has happened because the road which is used to mark out a 30mph zone does not officially exist.
The error was spotted by an eagle-eyed judge during the case of lorry driver Alan Dawe, who was filmed travelling at 11mph over the limit on the A35 at Chideock, Dorset, in 2005.[>
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According to the Highways Agency, the speed restricted zone is actually measured from the junction of “Seatown Road” in the village.[>
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But judge Anne Arnold noted that although locals refer to the side route off the A35 as Seatown Road there is no such name on any map.[>
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The road is actually called Duck Street. It is known as Seatown Road because it leads to the coastal village of Seatown.[>
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So Dorchester Crown Court ruled that Dawe’s speeding ticket was invalid – and consequently every fine resulting from the camera might be null and void. All motorists caught by the camera are being urged to claim back their fines – worth more than £3million.[>
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Mr Dawe, 52, from St Austell, Cornwall, said: “The money that camera has raked in has effectively been stolen because that speed restriction is not legal.[>
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“I have asked Dorset Police for the names and addresses of every motorist flashed by that camera because I feel a moral obligation to make sure they get their money back.[>
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“This could be one of the costliest mistakes of its kind in Britain because it has been going on for so long.[>
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“Most drivers would have paid up without thinking twice about it. [>
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“They should now write to the courts to demand their money back and ask for the points to be wiped off their licences.” The camera is believed to catch 100 drivers a week on average, meaning that £3.1million in fines may have been handed out since 1997 and 156,000 penalty points awarded.[>
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Paul Smith, of road safety group Safe Speed, said: “There are probably people who have lost jobs because of it. They should get compensation.”[>
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Pat Garrett, head of the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership, would not comment as the CPS is still considering the ruling.[>
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Oliver Letwin, Tory MP for West Dorset, which includes Chideock, described the case as “astonishing”.[>
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He added: “I cannot recall a government agency operating illegally for 10 years.” Mr Letwin will ask Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly to make sure the error has been put right.[>
