MORE than 800 speeding tickets were issued to motorists who set off stationary speed cameras in Brentwood last year, swelling the Government's coffers by almost £50,000.

The Gazette has learned that the borough's six fixed safety cameras caught 825 people speeding in 2010/11.

Each driver was slapped with a £60 fine, raising £49,500 for the Treasury.

In Essex as a whole, stationary cameras issued 29,266 speeding tickets in 2010/11 – raking in more than £1.7 million.

The most lucrative camera in Brentwood can be found in Shenfield Road, near its junction with Middleton Hall Lane.

During 2010/11, the device snared 361 speeding motorists, although this was a significant reduction on the 2008/09 total of 849.

At the other end of the spectrum, the camera near Doddinghurst Common in Ongar Road caught just 15 people who were driving too fast.

Separately, it has emerged that less than one third of the 99 stationary cameras in Essex are active at any one time.

The statistics were obtained by the Gazette using the Freedom of Information Act and cover the years 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11.

The TaxPayers' Alliance, which campaigns for a lower tax society, is not convinced that speed cameras are the right way to curb dangerous driving.

Campaign manager Robert Oxley said: "Speeding fines don't seem to have any real impact on dangerous driving, with a slower rate of decline in road casualties across the UK since the introduction of speed cameras.

"Drivers are understandably sceptical of measures like cameras that bring in money for the authorities but don't seem to prevent accidents.

"Safe driving is about more than slowing down when you see a yellow box and Essex Police should be wary of using speeding fines as a cash cow.

"They should look to other areas where roadside cameras have been scrapped without any increase in accidents."

Road safety charity Brake, meanwhile, expressed concern at the fact that just 30 per cent of stationary cameras are active in Essex.

Brake's Martin Howard said: "It is deeply concerning that so few speed cameras are live at any one time in Essex.

"Rigorous academic research has shown that safety cameras are exceptionally effective in reducing the number of crashes on our roads, but this deterrent is only credible if the cameras are turned on.

"These studies have also demonstrated that speed cameras pay for themselves several times over by preventing costly casualties.

"There needs to be more investment, nationally and locally, to enable speed cameras to be kept active at all times, in order to help prevent deaths and serious injuries which cause devastation to families and communities."

Fines issued by speed cameras in Essex are paid to Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, following which the money is transferred to the Treasury.