West Mercia Chief Constable Anthony Bangham is the national lead for policing roads, whose comments at the recent Police Federation Roads Policing Conference sparked an outcry from motorists who claim that the police target them as a means of generating revenue.

In a discussion about speed enforcement, Chief Constable Bangham, whose area covers Herefordshire, is alleged to have suggested that drivers should be punished even if they are only 1mph over the limit. It is also claimed that he said speed awareness courses are offered too often, as an alternative to fines and penalty points.

According to a recent survey by car leasing specialist UK Carline, which submitted Freedom of Information requests to 43 UK police forces, West Mercia issues the third highest number of speeding tickets in the country. Historical data suggests speeding offences have risen by 32% over the past year.

After the conference Chief Constable Bangham issued a statement. He said: “We know that enforcement can change people’s behaviours and I want to ensure that the public, who use the road network in West Mercia, are not surprised to see enforcement activity.”

He said that there has been an increase in the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on roads across West Mercia and that speeding, along with drink and drug driving, mobile phone use and not wearing seatbelts were factors in many of them.

Chief Constable Bangham said: “The police have a significant role to play in enforcing the law and we are the single agency who have the ability to do so.

“Speaking at a national conference yesterday as the national lead for roads policing I and colleagues debated how we could further protect people on our roads. No decisions were taken but we did consider options for how to reduce speeding. I am clear that in my force of West Mercia Police I want to do everything possible to make our roads safer.

“We will always ensure our activity is intelligence led and therefore on our highest harm routes, if we know they are dangerous, then we will consider how we best enforce those speed limits.

“I want West Mercia Police to do everything possible to protect people using our roads and lead the way in ensuring enforcement activity, particularly around the fatal four causes, which are drink and drug driving, speeding, mobile phone use and seatbelts. “The speed limits on our roads are set for good reason and I want our local communities to have clarity around their understanding as to what speed limits are and mean.”