A COUNCILLOR has asked the police to look at relocating a speed detection unit as he claimed it was placed in an unfair position in Wellington and catching unsuspecting motorists.

Cllr Marcus Barr said at Wellington Town Council’s full meeting on February 6 that a mobile speed camera often sited on the West Buckland Road and Oldway Road – more widely known as Wellington’s by-pass - was catching out so many drivers.

“There won’t be anybody left in Wellington driving at this rate because they’ll all be banned,” he said. A mobile speed detection van has often been dispatched on the busy road to a position near to the Jurston Lane roundabout and it has proved successful for the police enforcement officers.

Motorists pull out onto the by-pass from Ford Street and find their vision for traffic coming from their right is obscured by the bend in the road.

But many have found that no sooner have they pulled out with the road clear, that they look in their mirror and see a car bearing down on them so they instinctively accelerate to create space and before they know it they are zapped by the speed camera.

Cllr Barr said he felt it was an unfair place to put the speed camera because he claimed many of the motorists who were caught were merely trying to avoid accidents from happening at the Ford Street junction.

“With the cost of living crisis going on people are having to sacrifice spending money on food to pay for fines and speed awareness courses,” he said.

He suggested that the police could look at finding an alternative location for the speed camera to crack down on true speedsters.

Sgt Kat Forrest, of Wellington Police, who was at the council meeting on February 6, said: “I will discuss this with the team and report back to you.”

It later transpired that others within the council had similar thoughts as Cllr Barr and had personal experience of the speed camera on that road.

The stretch of road in question had always been a 40mph zone, but had recently dropped to 30mph because of the Jurston development, which is opposite where the camera is often sighted, and also due to the Ford Street junction being slightly dog-logged which has made it a bit of an accident blackspot because of the bend in the road.