SAFETY cameras are clocking 30 drivers every hour speeding through roadworks on the M4 in Wiltshire.

Camera vans have been enforcing the temporary 50mph limit between junctions 17 and 18 since August 9, when work began at Tormarton.

By August 18 operators had spent an average of 1.5 hours a day at the site over seven days and registered 305 alleged law-breakers.

Of these 295 have been fined, while 10 are set to face court hearings due to the high speeds they were doing. Another 94 offences are believed to have been detected in the three days since then, but the film has yet to be analysed.

Safety camera unit sergeant Nick Blencowe said: "Nationally, one person is killed almost every week in accidents at roadworks and 78 a week are injured.

"So, by enforcing the temporary speed limits through the roadworks we hope to prevent injuries and deaths.

"We also hope our efforts so far will have reminded drivers that the speed they're doing can mean the difference between life and death. A temporary speed limit is just as important as any other."

For the next six months safety camera operators will be checking speeds on the M4 in north Wiltshire and Swindon. This is following a Highways agency request to protect workers and the travelling public while fibre-optics cables are installed between junctions 16 and 18.