DRIVERS in Lancashire are nearly three times more likely to get hit with a speeding ticket after being caught on camera than elsewhere in the country.

New figures from the Government show that 1,499,600 fixed-penalty notices were sent to drivers caught breaking speed limits by cameras across the country.

But today the Lancashire Evening Telegraph can reveal that around 128,000 of those were issued in Lancashire - meaning nearly 10 per cent of tickets are being issued in a county which is home to less than three per cent of the country's 36 million drivers.

Driver groups in Lancashire today latched on to the figures, claiming it was proof the county's drivers were being victimised by the 'money-making' 320 speed cameras which have been put up in Lancashire.

RAC Foundation executive director Edmund King said: "Sending out millions of fines and penalty points does not necessarily improve road safety. Millions of pounds are being generated by remote enforcement technology and some of this should be spent on traffic police rather than more cameras.

"Police should not be diverted from crime or terrorism but there should be an absolute increase in the number of police devoted to traffic and road safety work.

"If the objective of the cameras is to improve road safety the rest of the revenue should go into improving dangerous roads."

He added: "What we are seeing is people slowing down at cameras, or dodging on to side roads to avoid them. On those side roads, accidents are increasing."

Schemes such as Home Zones - where roads are designed to give pedestrians priority - are now being planned for Lancashire in a bid a to tackle the rise in accidents on side roads.

But driver groups claim Lancashire drivers are being fined for minor offences, while drivers in other counties - such as County Durham in the North-East - get away with more serious ones because there are fewer cameras there.

A spokesman for the Association of British Drivers said: "The figures prove that it is just a lottery.

"In one county if you nudge over 30mph an hour you might get caught by a camera, but in another county you could be 40mph over the speed limit and get away with it."

The figures, for 2002 and the most recent set available, show that £7.6million was netted through fines to fund more cameras in Lancashire.

The Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety, set up to run the cameras and spend the money from fines to put up more, has repeatedly insisted that cameras save lives.

However, after installing 320 cameras, it is not fitting any more until a year-long analysis of the impact they have had has been completed.