Thames Valley Police has always denied using speed cameras as cashpoints -- insisting cameras make the roads safer.

traffic officers have targeted their resources on enforcement and educating drivers in the belief that speed reduction is an effective way to cut road casualties.

A speed camera at Botley Road, Oxford Under the Government pilot scheme, introduced in April 2000, Thames Valley did not increase its 300 speed camera sites. Money was, however, spent on increasing staff levels so existing equipment could be more widely used and offenders chased up.

The scheme specifically targeted roads with a history of speed-related accidents.

In the year before the pilot scheme was introduced, Thames Valley Police handed out 53,000 fixed penalty notices for speeding.

This financial year, under the Safer Roads Campaign, police have set a target of catching 153,000 drivers and pulling in £4.84m in fines.

However, according to first year results, the pilot scheme failed to affect the number of people seriously injured, or killed, on roads where speed cameras were sited.

Since the introduction of the scheme, the number of people injured on roads covered by speed cameras has only dropped by four per cent in Thames Valley.

However, senior traffic officers remain optimistic.

Insp Malcolm Collis, who heads the Safer Roads partnership, said: "We have used speed cameras in Thames Valley for ten years. Our dramatic reductions were achieved in the 1990s, when there was a 55 per cent reduction in the amount of people killed or maimed on the roads.

"It was because of this reduction that we were so keen to take part in the pilot."

Despite the disappointing results, Insp Collis said police were still looking at strategies to catch speeding motorists - including mobile cameras.

"There is no room for complacency," he said. "Three people are killed every week and more than 30 are seriously injured in the Thames Valley.

"Drivers have the most power to do something about reducing these figures.

"They shouldn't have to worry about where these speed cameras are because they should be driving within the speed limit at all times."

*The other police forces taking part in the pilot recorded drops of between 14 and 85 per cent on roads where cameras are sited.

*Thames Valley Police has 18 cameras, which are circulated around 300 camera sites.