In the past five years speeding motorists have had to cough up £1.8m after being caught out by cameras placed at just 10 locations in Herts.

Police have used a mix of fixed and mobile cameras in Stevenage and North Herts to catch nearly 19,000 speeding drivers since 2010, the Comet can reveal.

The biggest earner in the area was a mobile site in Grace Way, Stevenage, which clocked up at least £130,000 in fines last year.

Ian Taylor from the Association of British Drivers, which campaigns for an end to what it says is the abuse of speed cameras to extort money from drivers, said: “Despite most totals reducing since 2012, the overall trend over the years has still been up – very significantly since the start of the figures.

“When a camera makes that much money one has to ask if it is enforcing what should be the right speed limit because it’s saying that a huge amount of drivers are speeding.

“Does that say that all the drivers are irresponsible? The real question to ask is whether the limit set correctly? If it’s catching so many people maybe it’s too low because most drivers are not reckless.”

Drivers in North Herts didn’t fare much better with a fixed camera in Baldock Road, Letchworth catching more than 2,500 people in the five year period.

Other sites included a fixed camera in Hitchin Road, Stevenage, which has caught more than 2,600 since 2010 and a mobile camera site in Bedford Road, Hitchin, which earned £760,000 in the same period.

A police spokesman said: “Fines collected from motorists who break the speed limit go directly to central government, with the Department for Transport deciding where this money is reinvested.

“We have evidence to show that where our cameras have been placed, the number of people that are killed or seriously injured in collisions has been significantly reduced.”