Families fear for children's safety after speed cameras in Cornwall cut down
Families living in West Cornwall say they are worried more road accidents could happen after a spate of speed cameras being destroyed by vandals.
An average speed camera in near Helston was cut down on Friday and two more speed cameras on the A39 outside Falmouth were destroyed last month.
Parents David and Laura Stott are worried about how safe it is for their 12-year-old daughter to cross the road in Trewennack now there are no speed cameras.
They have worked with other parents to arrange a safe pickup point for the secondary school children at the bus stop.
Laura said: "I wouldn't be able to sit safely at home knowing my daughter would be exposed to somebody potentially driving at 60mph on a dangerous corner now."
The family have lived in the village of Trewennack since 2009, in that time David said he knew of 12 accidents before the camera being installed in 2016. He says since, he knows of just two crashes.
Trudi Baird regularly walks her dogs and the only way through the village is by the busy road which has no pavement in several stretches.
She kept a record of crashes on the road when the village campaigned for a bypass and says traffic was "stopped almost weekly" because of regular collisions.
"The cameras have changed our lives living in the village," she said. "Even walking up that pavement you feel safer."
Not everyone has shared the same views about the damaged cameras and some people online have been celebrating the cameras coming down.
Councillor Loveday Jenkins said she is frustrated with what she called "silly idiots mouthing off on Facebook" about what the long campaigned for cameras are being used for.
"This is not about big government," she added. "This is about the community doing something for themselves to ensure that they have a safe way to actually live."
Supt Ian Thompson is the Commander for West Cornwall told ITV News police will replace the cameras at a high cost to the road safety budget.
The cameras will be installed with a steel base to make them harder to cut down.
The Superintendent said the camera is far from "making loads of revenue" with 40 drivers caught speeding compared to the many more passing through the village.
Devon and Cornwall Police believe vandals may have been inspired by people committing criminal damage against ULEZ cameras in London but the cameras are completely different.
Supt Ian Thompson said: "There've been some quite extreme actions by members of the public through criminal damage.
"I do think that is played out within Cornwall but the average speed cameras are a completely different scheme. It's around public safety on our highways and ultimately making the streets of Devon and Cornwall safer place for everybody."