SPEED camera chiefs have been given the go-ahead to create 14 new sites in the county.The locations, due to be introduced in April last year, were held up by a Government report into their effectiveness.

SPEED camera chiefs have been given the go-ahead to create 14 new sites in the county.

The locations, due to be introduced in April last year, were held up by a Government report into their effectiveness.

Now Suffolk SafeCam, the group responsible for speed camera enforcement, intends to push ahead with its plans after receiving ministerial approval.

Only one of the new locations will be fixed, in Fore Hamlet, Ipswich, although this plan could still be scrapped if road improvements are carried out in the area.

But from today, enforcement will take place at 13 other sites on a random basis.

Spokeswoman Michelle Finnerty said existing cameras have helped secure a 68% reduction in crashes and a 25% fall in injury collisions at camera sites since 2003, placing Suffolk as the fifth highest ranking county in the country for casualty reduction.

She said: “We've always believed cameras are an effective way of reducing vehicle speeds and the associated casualties, so these results confirmed that the work we do is an important part of the county's progress towards cutting the level of death and injury on our roads.

“The partnership is committed to working together to encourage drivers to comply with their speed limits through engineering, education and enforcement. Cameras aren't there to catch people, but to remind them of the need to stick to the limit.”

But Paul Smith, of Safe Speed, a group opposing the use of speed cameras, questioned their value.

He said: “We don't believe speed cameras improve road safety. More camera sites mean more failure to improve.

“If you use an ineffective policy to replace an effective policy you can make roads more dangerous overall.

“There needs to be a package of improvements, to roads and vehicle engineering. There also needs to be more traffic police officers to make the roads safer. At the moment, they are being replaced by robots - but robots don't detect bad driving.”

Nationwide, more than 200 new speed camera sites for roads have been approved by the Government.

At the same time, 30 existing sites where road safety has significantly improved will be decommissioned.

Ms Finnerty said although accident rates have been cut at camera sites, there are no plans to introduce a similar move in Suffolk.

“The only time we would do that is if there were significant improvements to the engineering of the road,” she said.

Mobile cameras:

A11, Worlington

A12, Little Glemham, North

A12, Marlesford

A14, Newmarket

A134, Little Welnetham

A1088, Honington

A1101, Shippea Hill

A1156, Nacton

A1214, London Road, Ipswich,

B1385, Corton

Ipswich, Landseer Road

Felixstowe, Trinity Avenue

Ipswich, Ellenbrook Road

Fixed Camera:

A1156, Ipswich, Fore Hamlet