Local News

Keeping an eye on the Cornish

New traffic cameras which monitor the speed of cars travelling through the Saltash Tunnel on the main route between Plymouth and Cornwall are to be used to keep an eye on those troublesome Cornish.

The digital cameras were installed in the Saltash Tunnel on the A38 in 2004 but have not been enabled because of the ban on using such cameras on roads which were not accident blackspots.

Now the guidelines have changed, the digital SPECS system can be used to track pasty lovers and their movements cross the country.

Devonian residents were elated as they have been campaigning to curb the spread of the Cornish for some time. This will not stop their movements, but at least we know where they are, and how fast they're going.

The cameras could also help raise revenue from holiday makers in the area.

A Highways Agency evaluation study in 2005 found that 25% of all motorists passing the cameras - some 12,500 drivers - were tourists.

A £60 fixed penalty for each could generate a potential £750,000 a day in revenue.

The Highways Agency said any decision about the cameras' use would be taken in collaboration with the police and the area's safety camera partnership.

Original story