THE police have come up with a new way to catch irate motorists who vandalise speed cameras: set up other cameras to film them in the act.

A closed-circuit television system would be installed beside the speed traps under plans being considered to curb a spate of attacks in which 700 cameras have been burnt, pulled down or had their lenses spray painted.

Safety camera partnerships, which manage the 4,500 speed traps in Britain, believe the extra expense could be justified because each camera costs £35,000, when loaded with film, rising to £60,000 for new digital versions. Other options to protect the cameras include fitting them with sabotage alarms.

In Avon, Somerset and Gloucestershire — one of the first areas to see the potential benefits of CCTV — 11 of its cameras have been attacked in the past 18 months.

“We have only had one prosecution in the past two years. . . CCTV may be a way to catch the criminals,” said Dick Bowen, project manager for the partnership which groups together police, councils and courts. “For some reason, this vandalism has recently gained momentum.” The number of cameras on Britain’s roads has multiplied since 1998, when the government decided to let police and councils keep the money from speeding fines.

While police say cameras help reduce road deaths, the devices have angered many motorists who see them as an easy way of raising money from drivers for minor transgressions. Police chiefs expect annual fines to top 3m by next year, almost three times the 1.1m handed out in 2001.

Protesters say 700 cameras have been destroyed by “direct action”. One tactic is to “necklace” the devices by throwing tyres over them and setting them alight. Another is to pull the cameras down by attaching tow ropes to the poles holding them up.

The CCTV cameras would be mounted on high poles or on the sides of buildings to ensure they, too, did not fall victim to saboteurs.

Susan Beck of National Safety Camera Liaison said: “These speed cameras save lives. The people who damage them can only be described as mindless criminals and idiots.”

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