POLICE staff shortages in Wiltshire mean driving offences recorded on dash cams and handed in by the public will not be investigated.

Adrian Davies, 59, from Corsham was shocked to see a driver go the wrong way around a roundabout near Sainsbury's in Chippenham on November 20 - but even more shocked when, after handing in clear dash cam footage to the police, he was told they simply did not have the staff to investigate the incident.

"It is annoying," he said. "They are asking for dash cam evidence when something happens and they need help from the public, so it's a smack in the teeth to go to the trouble of submitting a video and don't do anything about it."

Mr Davies, a civil servant, fitted the dash cam because he drives many miles for his job. He was driving towards Corsham on the A4 out of Chippenham towards the roundabout between Sainsbury's and Methuen when he noticed a car coming from the left, appearing to go the wrong side of the bollard and then right onto the roundabout, before heading along the A4 towards Chippenham. Mr Davies said it was lucky this manoeuvre did not cause a serious accident.

He edited the footage and sent it to the police - only to receive a letter in reply explaining they would not be pursuing the driver.

Justice traffic supervisor Ann Badminton wrote: "A strategic decision has been made by Wiltshire police that as a short term measure dash camera evidenced traffic offences will not be processed. This unfortunate decision has been made due to the fact that the department that processes this material is currently awaiting four new employees to clear vetting, has an unusual level of short term sickness, along with an unprecedented level of workload.”

Supt Dave Minty, Wiltshire Police force lead for Crime Standards and Justice, said: “Our Justice Traffic department has been dealing with an unprecedented level of demand recently, which has come at the same time as some staff shortages.

“Unfortunately, this has meant we have had to make the difficult decision to temporarily halt our work processing dash cam footage for traffic offences where there is no victim or injuries.

“I’m sure the public will understand that we must prioritise road traffic collisions, particularly those where someone has been injured. And I want to reassure you that dash cam footage relating to victims or injuries is always processed and reviewed."

“However, we are working hard to rectify the staffing shortages, and we hope the matter will be resolved swiftly.”