A SENIOR Dorset police officer has called for 20mph limits outside schools.

But Chief Inspector Rick Dowell said they only need to be enforced as children arrive at school and at home time.

The head of the Dorset Road Policing Unit was speaking on the day a government advisory group called for the lower limit to be introduced in all town and city centres to cut accidents.

Chief Insp Dowell told the Daily Echo: "I do not agree with blanket 20mph zones but I am supportive of variable speed limits outside of locations such as schools."

If the group's proposals become law, 20mph speed cameras could be introduced across the country.

Plans to bring in cameras which measure a driver's average speed over a certain distance have also been suggested by the advisory body And it is believed many local authorities are supporting the move in a bid to cut the number of deaths and injuries on the roads.

There are currently 51 fixed speed cameras, 17 fixed red light cameras and dozens of possible mobile camera locations in Dorset, generating millions of pounds every year.

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (Pacts) suggested the additional cameras in a report which argues for 20mph zones in all town and city centres and in built-up areas.

It also recommends that all homes should be within 10 minutes walking distance of a shop, to reduce congestion, and that funding should be made available to assess older drivers.

"Improving road safety is not an academic exercise - deaths on our roads are preventable occurrences where society could and should do more to prevent them" said Robert Gifford of Pacts.

"Every year, the inhabitants of a town the size of Nottingham or Belfast are killed or injured on our roads."

Speed cameras are one of the most controversial aspects of motoring today with many claiming they do nothing to improve road safety and are simply money-making machines.

Johnny Stephens, Operations Project Manager at the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership (DSCP), said: "The DSCP does not currently use any time-over-distance safety cameras as part of its portfolio of equipment.

"There are no current plans to enforce 20mph speed limit zones in Dorset."