FEWER than a quarter of the fixed speed cameras in Greater Manchester are actually switched on and catching offenders, figures show.

A Freedom of Information Request revealed that of the 177 speed cameras in the region, just 43 are still on – around 24 per cent.

A request was sent to all 45 police forces in the UK and from the 36 which responded, just more than half of all the speed cameras were still switched on.

Road safety charity Brake described the national figures as concerning and called for all cameras to be switched on, while AA president Edmund King said the high number of inactive cameras was down to pressure on budgets. A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs’ Council said the decision to use cameras was ‘an operational matter’, and ‘all forces have individual responsibility for the use of speed cameras’.

Mr King said: “Many of the empty yellow cases are due to cuts in road safety grants and the fact that digital cameras, although more effective, are very expensive.

“It is also reflective of the fact that proceeds from cameras are no longer allowed to be ring-fenced to be reinvested into yet more cameras as now all the money goes to the Treasury.”

He warned motorists not to gamble on cameras being inactive.