Britain's most profitable speed cameras revealed

A speed camera raised more than £600,000 in 2015, according to a report revealing the devices that generate the most money.

The A1 northbound at Great Ponton, near Grantham, in Lincolnshire, generated £606,400-worth of speeding fines from 6,064 motorists, each paying a £100 penalty.

That same year, a camera on the M180 west of River Trent in Scunthorpe made £585,300, while a speed trap on the M25, between junction 17 and 18 near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, caught drivers to the tune of £538,500, adds the study, which was commissioned by insurance group Carole Nash.

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Another M25 camera, this time between junction 5 and Clacket Lane Services, in Surrey, generated a £373,300, while fifth place went to the A12 in Stratford St Mary, where 3,054 drivers paid a collected £305,400.

In total, the ten highest-earning cameras in Britain generated £3,164,100 in 2015, of which £1,167,200 was from three speed traps in London, reports Evo.

Sergeant Mark Lucas of the Metropolitan Police told Carole Nash that despite these large figures, speed cameras were making roads safer by deterring drivers from putting their foot down.

Speeding drivers cost the economy £16.3bn in 2014, "due to human costs and costs to emergency, health and criminal justice services", he continued.

"Cameras can catch far higher numbers of speeding motorists than traffic police with mobile cameras", allowing forces to undertake "other duties that cannot be conducted by technology".

A new speeding fine system introduced last month sees drivers facing a fine of up to 175 per cent of their weekly income if they refuse to pay the fixed £100 penalty.

In addition, those who have held a license for fewer than two years and repeat offenders could lose their driving licence. The maximum fine for speeding motorists is still £2,500.