There is almost unanimous support for speed cameras in Essex towns and villages - but less on dual cariageways and motorways.

The findings follow informal canvassing by authorities from a cross-section of county residents.

A £4.5 million pilot scheme in Essex which started on April 1 sees fixed camera sites increasing from 44 to 100 and mobile cameras trebling from 24 to 78.

It is estimated that speeding fines will pay for the scheme, which it is hoped will reduce speed-related crashes by up to a half and all crashes by a quarter.

Essex County Council traffic and safety manager, Rosemary Welch, said: "Calculations indicate the scheme should save 78 injury crashes at a cost of £61,000 each, a total of £4.75 million."

The Essex Partnership - made up of magistrates, police and councils - say the "vast majority" of those interviewed felt many motorists drove far too quickly in residential areas.

All the cameras will be used in areas where there is a 30mph or 40mph limit and a history of speed related crashes.

There was a minority view in the survey that the 70mph limit may be too low on motorways.

The study revealed a widely-held belief that fixed site cameras are largely non-operational.

The partnership said that there are instances when cameras do not have film, but Essex has one of the highest national ratios of fully-operational cameras.

By Fred Hammerton

Reporter's e-mail: fred.hammerton@essex-chronicle.co.uk

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.