Notorious speed camera wracked up over £1million in fines
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Published: 09:43, 27 July 2025 | Updated: 09:47, 27 July 2025
A Labour council says it can't afford to replace a vandalized GBP20,000 speed camera which has brought in more than GBP1m in fines whilst penalizing drivers for a new controversial 20mph blanket policy.
The camera was one of hundreds installed across Wales in 2023 after the new 20mph speed limit was brought in.
It caught more than 8,000 drivers in just 10 months on the A4102 in Merthyr Tydfil making it the most prolific speed camera in Wales.
But in darkness on November 26th last year a group calling itself South Wales Bladerunners chopped it down.
Hard-up Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council says it doesn't have the money to replace the missing camera, even though it's a huge earner for The Treasury.
A council spokesperson said: The pole and camera was damaged illegally by a group calling themselves the 'South Wales Bladerunners' and we had to remove it completely for safety reasons.
'The maintenance and replacement of the infrastructure would be at a cost to the Local Authority and we do not have the money to replace it.
'We do not receive any of the funds from fines issued so there is no maintenance budget.'
SLASHED: Blade runners have destroyed a speed camera which made GBP1million from Welsh motorists
The camera was one of hundreds installed across Wales in 2023 after the new 20mph speed limit was brought in (A 20mph sign in Cardiff)
2023: Traffic crawls along a busy road in Cardiff that was switched from 30mph to 20mph
The Council said it reported the act of criminal damage to South Wales Police but it's understood no one has been prosecuted.
If every driver snapped by the camera was fined the minimum of GBP100 it would have netted an estimated GBP1,120,000 in the 14 months it was in operation.
It means The Treasury has missed out on GBP640,000 since the vigilante group chopped it down.
The A4102, known as Swansea Road, in Merthyr Tydfil, is one of dozens of 20mph zones in Wales under review after public protests.
The Welsh Government, at the time led by Mark Drakeford, brought in a default 20mph speed limit on restricted roads in September 2023.
There was a huge public outcry and almost 500,000 people signed a petition to 'rescind and remove the disastrous 20mph law'.
Many of the people who signed felt it was a huge money-making scheme for the cash-strapped Welsh Government.
They argued that many of the new 20mph zones, including the A4102, were not in built-up residential areas or accident blackspots.
Go Safe, the agency that operates speed cameras in Wales, say they are not designed for income generation.
A spokesman said: 'Speed cameras play an important role in reducing the number of people killed or injured on Welsh roads.
'They are installed by local authorities in areas with the highest risk and are paid for using public money.
'They are designed to save lives and when they are damaged by criminals, more public money has to be spent to repair or replace them.'
Meanwhile drivers are still being hit by huge fines and losing their licenses after being caught by the speed camera that no longer exists.
One driver was caught doing 29mph just a few days before the camera was removed but the case only came to court last month.
The man, from Merthyr Tydfil, said: 'It was chopped down nearly eight months ago because so many were angry about the new 20mph limit.
'But drivers caught before it was removed are still being prosecuted.
'Driving at over 20mph is against the law one day and the next day you can do 30mph on the same stretch of road.
'That doesn't seem like justice to me, especially as the council are considering putting it back to a thirty.'
The driver, who didn't want to be named, was fined a total of GBP450, including prosecution costs and a court surcharge after totting up 12 points.
He was let off a six-month driving ban because of the hardship it would cause to his family but was told he would be banned if caught again.
References
- ^ JOHN JAMES (www.dailymail.co.uk)