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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Harry Hawkins

Speed cameras finally working on one of UK's most dangerous motorways after two years

Speed cameras on one of Britain's most notorious motorways have finally been turned on - after not working for almost two years.

The 50mph zone along the M4 in Newport, South Wales, was supposed to limit vehicle emissions and improve traffic flow close to the border with England.

The average speed cameras were put up in early 2021, but only turned on this week as bosses blamed IT problems and staffing issues for the delay.

The Welsh Government said the cameras would help improve air quality.

Deputy Minister for climate change Lee Waters said: "We need to act now to make Wales a safe place to live with clean air for everyone

IT problems and staffing issues were blamed for the long delay (John Myers)

"We have made significant progress in bringing emissions levels down in recent years, but we now have to go further and faster.

"We know that slower speed limits are not a popular choice, but we need to do things differently and be bold if we are to stand a chance of tackling climate change."

Speaking of the delay, earlier this year, a spokesman for policing partnership GoSafe said: "Due to the advent of digital technology and the demands upon IT departments to install several camera types, we have reached a point where significant development and investment in systems is required before we can make these schemes live and absorb the extra demand which will arise as part of these schemes.

"To that end we have approved additional resourcing in the IT staff team to assist with the backlog of development work to bring all schemes online.

"To date our recruitment attempts have been unsuccessful and have meant that we are unable to secure the staff to deliver the IT solutions required.

"I offer assurance that we have dedicated resources working diligently on this matter to ensure that we continue to make progress towards our enforcement goals."

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