The speed camera trap on the M6 that's racing towards record £3m haul in fines

By Jaya Narain for MailOnline
Updated: 08:58 EDT, 10 March 2010

For such an innocuous stretch of motorway, it is fast gaining a fearsome reputation.

In little more than five weeks, this three-mile length of road cutting through the scenic borderlands of North-West England has smashed the British record for speed camera victims.

An astonishing 5,569 motorists have been caught breaking the 50mph speed limit by the fixed cameras at roadworks at a junction of the M6 near Carlisle.

'Cash cow': One of the cameras on the M6 where 5,569 motorists have been caught breaking the 50mph speed limit in just over a month

With each motorist set to receive a minimum fixed penalty fine of £60, the cameras have already raked in more than £334,000.

And with three weeks of work to go, they are set to bring in fines of more than £500,000 in just two months - the equivalent of £3million a year.

The previous record was held by a camera on the M11, which raked in £1million a year.

Angry motoring groups say the huge number of victims is proof that speed cameras - which earn more than £100million in fines a year - are being used as a 'cash cow' by the Government.

Nigel Humphries, of the Association of British Drivers, said: 'This has to be the worst case we have heard of.

'There is a bad one on the M11 but it is nothing like this - this is appalling and the speed cameras must be sited wrongly to have clocked so many speeding drivers.'

Speed map of shame: Figures compiled last year show the most lucrative cameras in England - which have been  far overtaken by the trap on the M6

Claire Armstrong, of Safespeed, said: 'This is absolutely disgusting. This puts all the others in the shade. The cameras on the M11, which are questionable, were raising around £1million a year but this one would substantially beat that.

'This has nothing to do with road safety and everything to do with raising money.'

Mr Humphries added: 'Cameras on motorways are the biggest revenue-raisers because often people using the roads are not local and not aware of the roadworks or speed limits. It's pretty shocking that so many people have been caught and many will be furious when they get a nasty little surprise in the post.'

The roadworks between Junctions 43 and 44 of the M6 near Carlisle began on January 29 and will continue until April.

Kevin Tea, from Cumbrian Road Safety Partnership, admitted the figures were high but said the cameras were in the standard yellow boxes and were highly visible - as were the speed limit signs.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: 'We are concerned about the number of drivers who appear to be ignoring the speed limit, putting themselves and our workforce in danger.

'Driving through half a mile of roadworks at 70mph takes just ten seconds fewer than driving at 50mph - a ten-second saving that can put lives at risk.'

Last year the Daily Mail revealed that the number of crashes on the M11 at its junction with the North Circular A406 near Woodford, Essex, had increased by 25 per cent since a speed camera was installed.