In the past five years motorists who have fallen foul of speed cameras placed at just 10 Herts locations have had to cough up a hefty £1.8 million.

Police have used a mix of fixed and mobile cameras in North Herts and Stevenage to catch nearly 19,000 speeding drivers since 2010.

One of the roads in the top ten for speeding fines is Baldock Road in Royston, which caught a total of 1,511 people in the last five years.

Ian Taylor from the Association of British Drivers, which campaigns for an end to what it says is the abuse of speed cameras to extort money from drivers, told the Crow: “Despite most totals reducing since 2012, the overall trend over the years has still been up – very significantly since the start of the figures.

“When a camera makes that much money, one has to ask if it is enforcing what should be the right speed limit because it’s saying that a huge number of drivers are speeding.

“Does that say that all the drivers are irresponsible?

“The real question to ask is whether the limit is set correctly.

“If it’s catching so many people, maybe it’s too low because most drivers are not reckless.”

A police spokesman said: “Fines collected from motorists who break the speed limit go directly to central government, with the Department for Transport deciding where this money is reinvested.

“We have evidence to show that where our cameras have been placed, the number of people who have been killed or seriously injured in collisions has been significantly reduced.”