Chideock: Speed camera fiasco totals £1.8million and counting

THE tally – so far – for the Chideock speed camera fiasco is more than £1.8million, with the bill being footed by the Highways Agency.

It was more than four years ago when Cornish lorry driver Alan Dawe appealed against his speeding offence and in the process discovered a mistake made by the agency in which they named a local road Seatown Road in the Traffic Regulation Order when no such street exists.

The ruling that he was innocent on the technicality opened the floodgates for refunds and now Dorset’s Road Safe has issued the total for the decade from 1997 to 2007.

In all 23,108 people got their £60 repaid at a total cost to the taxpayer of £1,386,480.

Just less than 1,000 people fined at the pre-2000 rate got back £40, totalling another £38,000. There were 127 who donated their fine to charity and 121 who declined the money. With £370,981 in administration costs the total bill is £1,818,288 but a spokesman for the Highways Agency said there may still be more claims to come. The spokesman said: “The Highways Agency is paying because we made the original mistake in the traffic order. We’ve said publicly that’s our error.

“£1.8million is what has been paid so far but we haven’t shut the door, there may still be claims to come.”

John Wallis of Lyme Regis never expected to see his £60 back after being caught doing 40mph on the night of the 2005 general election. He was in his 70s at the time and it was his first speeding ticket.

He said: “I was the presiding officer out at Bettiscombe and I had to take the box back to Bridport and I had been working since six o’clock that morning and this was 11 at night and there was nothing on the road and I was doing 40 so they clobbered me. When I was caught I just thought tough luck, what else can you say?

“You had to ring a number and they asked you if you wanted a refund or if you wanted to make a donation to the road fund. I declined to do that.

“They are paying this money back but still taking it now the speed cameras are back in operation but legally this time.”

The review followed a test case held at Dorchester Crown Court when Mr Dawe won an appeal against his conviction for ‘speeding’ through Chideock in October 2008.

It paved the way for the original traffic order to be officially reviewed.

http://www.bridportnews.co.uk/news/localnews/9262866.Chideock__Speed_camera_fiasco_totals___1_8million_and_counting/