MOTORISTS have been slapped with nearly £7,000 in fines in the first weeks of Wiltshire Police’s speeding crackdown.

Since the deployment of the community enforcement officer nine weeks ago, it has caught 132 drivers burning rubber on Wiltshire roads.

The work of the scheme, jointly funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and Wiltshire Police, has seen drivers hit with fines and prosecution notices totalling more than £6,840.

PCC Philip Wilkinson said: “Speeding is dangerous and time and time again I’m hearing from resident’s just how concerned they are and this is echoed by our Community Speed Watch volunteers – as a result road safety will be a key element in my upcoming Police and Crime Plan.

“It will take time for the real benefits of this enforcement action to shine through, but I’m pleased to see that we are already seeing results from deployments and hope to see the additional enforcement officers recruited in the coming months.”

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“Prevention is key and we should not wait for another family to grieve a loved one lost to a collision involving speed to take action and as our enforcement capacity increases and creates additional funds through fines and penalties this money will be reinvested in ever more enforcement.”

These figures are in addition to a deployment in Inglesham last week where 12 drivers were caught speeding in wet and stormy conditions.

One motorist was caught twice within an hour at a speed of 62mph in a 40mph area. Since coming into office Mr Wilkinson has committed to funding two more community enforcement officers.