AN incredible 1,568 motorists were caught speeding on Bolton's roads - in a THREE week police crackdown.

And the vast majority of the motorists, detected by speed cameras, still have no idea that they have been caught out.

The drivers will only become aware over the next day or so when the fixed penalty envelopes drop through their letterbox.

In addition to the 1,568 who are facing prosecution, a further 245 drivers were warned at the roadside by police officers to watch their speed. A total of 1,342 were "caught" speeding by cameras sited on roads considered to be accident blackspots. Bolton's police chiefs have expressed their disappointment and surprise over the number of drivers detected flouting the speed limits.

Insp Bill Gillespie, head of the Bolton Police traffic unit, said: "The vast majority of people we stopped were local people. Only an odd one or two were driving through.

"Its sad that, despite the publicity, Bolton motorists still showed a blatant disregard for the speed limits on our roads."

The publicity was highlighted by stark "no punches pulled" advertisements on television and radio.

Ninety per cent of the speeders in Bolton were detected on roads where a 30mph limit is in force.

The nationwide speed campaign, organised by the Department of Environment and Transport, began on February 1 and continued until last weekend.

Although figures were not available today for the rest of Greater Manchester it is expected that more people were caught speeding on Bolton's roads than anywhere else in the county. Insp Gillespie said the high number of prosecutions illustrates that more "work" needs to be done.

"I'm surprised by the number of people detected speeding in Bolton," he said. "We would have been satisfied to have carried out the campaign and got nobody. But that has not happened.

"In our view Bolton records an unacceptable number of road accidents and speed plays a significant role in a majority of them.

"Our campaign shows that we still have a problem. We need to get the message across to people that speed kills."

He warned: "Until that message is heeded our campaign to combat the problem will continue."

In 1997 3,599 people were killed on Britain's roads and 323,945 were injured. Two thirds of all accidents happen on roads with a maximum speed limit of 30mph.

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