HUNDREDS of people in Worcester are refusing to pay speeding tickets in a stand against speed cameras, claims a motoring official.

A total of 8,156 drivers have been clocked speeding on the northbound carriageway of Worcester's City Walls Road since it first started operating a year ago.

Of these, 6,616 have been issued £60 fixed penalties - 5,621 of which have paid up, fuelling the Treasury's coffers with more than £330,000.

However, 995 speeders have yet to pay.

Mark McArthur-Christie, regional spokesman for the Association of British Drivers said more and more motorists are refusing to pay in a fight against an "unjust system".

Magistrates are more likely to hand out stiffer penalties if someone appeals against a fine, he claimed.

"That's why people aren't paying their fines because there's no justice in the system whatsoever," he added.

"I get e-mails each week from law abiding, law respecting, hardworking people, and these tickets are their first offence.

"They feel as though they have lost any respect for the law and not paying is their only chance of making their point."

The Evening News revealed yesterday that 3,194 drivers have been caught speeding by the five new cameras in Bromyard Road, Hylton Road, New Road, Rainbow Hill and the southbound carriageway of City Walls Road, since they were installed a month ago.

"If that many people are being caught on a clear straight stretch of road, then the wrong speed limits are obviously in place," added Mr McArthur-Christie.

"The Safety Camera Partnership (SCP) is putting these cameras on straight stretches to make more money."

SCP spokeswoman Heather Mead said of the 995 people yet to pay their fines, 728 still had time to pay them but 267 speeders' payments were overdue and they could now face further prosecution.

"Everyone has the right to challenge a penalty," she added. "Some people do make an appeal and stand against them and it's their right to do so.

"We deliberately place cameras where they can be seen and the cameras have to be clearly visible at least 60 metres from a 30 to 40 mph zone and 100 metres elsewhere.

"We select sites very carefully in a very short distance of where a cluster of collisions have occurred."

The aim of the scheme was not to make money but to encourage drivers to slow down and save lives, she added.

The Evening News reported on Wednesday that £330,000 worth of fines have been doled out to 3,000 speeders since Worcester's first speed camera was installed a year ago on the northbound carriageway of City Walls Road.

In fact, the fines have been paid by 6,616 motorists who were caught speeding on that stretch of the road.

The 3,000 figure relates to the number of motorists caught by the five new cameras installed a month ago.