Motorists on the A14 are being urged to curb their speed after more than 1,000 were caught driving over 70mph on a single stretch of the road in 2017.

Statistics tweeted by the Norfolk and Suffolk Safety Camera and Central Ticket Office revealed that at least eight people were injured in accidents on the A14 at Newmarket, at a cost of £239,000 to the tax payer per injury road traffic collision (RTC).

The 2017 figures also revealed that more than 860 people were caught driving at over 80mph and 17 were clocked at 100 or more along the section of road.

The tweet read: “Last year at least eight people were injured in collisions on the A14 at Newmarket. 1,119 drivers were caught speeding, over 860 doing 80+, 17 doing 100 or more.

“Latest figures show each injury RTC costs the taxpayer £239k. If drivers complied with the law we wouldn’t need to be there.”

Suffolk police said it will keep monitoring the county’s roads in a bid to deter motorists from speeding and “targeted enforcement” will continue in this area as well as other areas.

A Suffolk Constabulary spokesman said: “Speeding is one of the ‘fatal four’ offences which makes you more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a collision - alongside drink driving, driving while using a mobile phone and not wearing a seatbelt.

“In terms of the A14 in Newmarket, the data relates to offences recorded for excess speed on this section of road in 2017.

“Approximately, it accounts for 3% of the total speeding offences detected across Suffolk and equates to three speeding vehicles per day at this location.

“Although this may seem like a relatively low number of motorists caught per day, speeding of any nature can lead to a serious collision and one collision is too many.

“As a force, we will continue to monitor our roads in a bid to deter motorists from speeding as limits are in place for a reason. We will continue to carry out targeted enforcement activity in this area and in other areas across Suffolk.”

Speeding fines went up in April last year, with penalties doubled for drivers clocked at more than 20mph over the limit.

The minimum penalty for speeding remains a £100 fine and three penalty points added to your driving licence.

For more information about speeding, visit www.suffolk.police.uk