A TERMINALLY-ill woman has condemned speed cameras that caught her exceeding the legal limit by six miles per hour, saying the points on her licence will last longer than she will.

Ann Butts, aged 63, says she is angry that she will "die a criminal" after receiving three penalty points for travelling along the 30mph City Walls Road in Worcester at 36mph.

"It's very upsetting because I've been driving since 1968 and have never had any points on my licence before," said Mrs Butts, of Pershore, who has been diagnosed with secondary cancer after having a breast removed.

"I was changing lanes at the time and must have let the speed creep up a bit.

"I know I broke the law by speeding, but when you think about what's going on elsewhere in the country, like shootings and the problems with paedophiles, it's a very small crime really and I don't think I'm too much of a danger to the public.

"I'm a law-abiding citizen. I've done jury service, I never, ever, drink and drive, not even a few sips of wine, and I never jump red lights.

"I think too much emphasis is placed on these speed cameras and they are dangerous because drivers have to spend so long looking at the dashboard to make sure they're not speeding, they might not see someone step out in front of them.

"The worse thing is, I will probably die a criminal now.

"I've already had a mastectomy and chemotherapy, but the cancer has now spread and the average length of survival is between two or three years, so by the time the points have cleared, I'll probably be dead. It's very upsetting."

Heather Mead, spokesman for West Mercia's Safety Camera Partnership, which operates the cameras, said the scheme was proving to be one of the most successful initiatives ever.

"A few miles an hour does make a difference, because at just 5mph over the 30mph limit, you are twice as likely to kill someone as you are at 30mph.

"In the UK approximately one third of all collisions are speed related, but in this region, the situation is much worse with excess or inappropriate speed being a factor in almost half of all collisions.

"We're confident that in the future, there will be people in this area who will be alive and well who would otherwise have been killed or seriously injured."

Our letter's page has been chock-a-block with complaints about speed cameras since they were introduced in Worcester earlier this year. What do you think? Write to: Voice of Worcester, Evening News, Hylton Road, Worcester, WR2 5JX or you can e-mail our letters editor at: letters@thisisworcester.co.uk