A NEW breed of speed cameras will catch criminals on the move as well as motorists breaking the limit in a ground-breaking development.

Bosses at the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety have told boffins to integrate automatic number plate readers with the Gatsos - using speed cameras as spy cameras.

This would allow the registration of any vehicle caught speeding through a fixed speed camera site to be checked against intelligence on the national police computer.

If something suspicious was found the camera would alert police, helping trace wanted people quickly.

For the past 18 months police have used hand-held ANPR devices at roadside checkpoints. The new technology has proved highly effective, helping alert police to wanted or known criminals, stolen cars and those without tax and insurance.

It has led to the seizure of drugs, weapons and the disruption of the activities of known criminals.

The partnership expects integrated ANPR technology to be in place by Christmas, making Lancashire one of the first places in the country to have them.

Each new ANPR speed camera would cost £100,000, meaning that only a limited number could be bought. Ordinary speed cameras cost about £25,000.

It is thought that main arterial roads will be their locations to maximise the chances of catching travelling criminals on the move.

Installing one of the cameras would mean ripping out the existing one. It would also have to stay in that place permanently.

Adrian Emberton, manager of the Blackburn-based Central Ticket Office for Lancashire which issues the county's fines, said: "It is an untapped resource which is being looked at because criminals have to get from A to B and often do so in a hurry.

"We are looking at the possibility of a system that will work as a speed camera and check the police national computer as ANPR does.

"This is what we are developing. We are looking at how the automatic number plate technology works.

"Lancashire has pioneered a lot of systems in relation to central ticket offices and we hope this one will be in place by Christmas.

"We will start to pick up the movements on known criminals.

"We think the intelligence potential is something that has been overlooked and forces are beginning to recognise this.

"We don't want to victimise motorists, but catch criminals who also use the roads."

Mr Emberton said that the potential for the ANPR link-up was discovered over the past few years as speed cameras proved useful in detecting crime.

He added: "We have 25 to 30 cases of crime being discovered each month through the speed cameras.

"There is fraud, deception, attempts to pervert the course of justice and drugs intelligence.

"If there is a major incident, the central ticket officer are contacted to ask if they can check to see if they have been caught on camera."

Currently, there are 320 speed cameras in Lancashire.