SPEED cameras which do not comply with Government regulations may be turned into roadside "dummies" in a bid to control motorists without fining them.

The move was revealed as Lancashire road safety bosses blamed motorists' anger and confusion over cameras on the Government for changing the criteria for their placement.

The Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety said older fixed site cameras which didn't meet the latest criteria would be reviewed and some could turn into sites which flashed but did not record drivers' details.

A partnership spokesman added: "A camera is reviewed after three years. We wouldn't remove it, but if it did not fulfil the criteria we may switch it off more regularly, or install a device which flashes but doesn't take a picture."

Ian Bell, head of the partnership until four months ago when he became the Association of Chief Police Officers representative on the government's board for speed camera policy, also spoke out to clarify the confusion over guidelines.

Earlier this week, a spokesman for Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said he would write to the partnership reminding it that there must have been four deaths or serious accidents in the vicinity in three years for it to place a camera. Currently 53 of East Lancashire's 117 speed cameras contravene guidelines.

Mr Bell admitted a number of East Lancashire's speed cameras would be contrary to the guidelines, which come into effect on April 1, but added the new rules did not affect existing cameras, only new sites. He also said the partnership had correctly used other Government guidelines on minor accidents to justify placement of cameras.

He said the Government had changed its advice and added: "The Department for Transport are doing motorists a disservice by giving wrong information. People need to know the proper criteria. If people look on the national website for the partnerships all the information about the guidelines is there."

Mr Bell vowed to discuss the matter with the Transport Department and explained the only criteria for placing speed cameras when the partnership was formed in November 2001 was that they were at "locations where they had been a casualty-related speed problem", but said Lancashire sites were picked after exhaustive research.