Fake speed camera on West Lulworth road to be removed

Motorists driving down Main Road in West Lulworth have been both entertained and angered by a fake speed camera installed on top of a Dorset Police ‘No Excuse’ pole towards the village.

The fake camera is believed to have been made from a timber wood like material and painted yellow and grey to resemble a Gatso-style speed camera.

Coach driver Andy Miller regularly drives down the 30mph stretch to take tourists to the nearby Lulworth Cove and expressed concern the fake camera would cause an accident involving new visitors or local drivers shocked by the new roadside feature.

He told the Echo: “It’s a public road and not a private estate, it should not be there. That road is so narrow – it’s almost impossible to speed down there.

Gatso speed camera

“I feel it has been put up to make tourists scared. Cameras are installed for the reason of slowing people down only when there is a need to do so, not to be put up willy nilly by a resident.

“It will cause an accident in the end because there are no warning signs saying a camera is nearby. People shouldn’t take the law into their own hands like this.

“I understand what they’re doing, but they’re doing it the wrong way.”

Others on social media, however, found the creation amusing. One person said: “I got flashed by this last week.”

Another said: “Fairy liquid bottle, cardboard and some sticky back plastic, Blue Peter badge earned.”

One woman, meanwhile, described it as a “good deterrent”.

While installing a fake speed camera is not illegal, doing so can put you at risk of civil action if someone claims to be distracted by it.

Fake speed camera installed on Dorset Police No Excuse pole in Main Road, West Lulworth

Dorset Council, however, recognised such creations could cause an “inadvertent risk to road safety”.

A spokesperson said: “We are aware of reports of a fake speed camera that has been erected at West Lulworth, and this will be removed.

“It’s important that appropriate signage is used at all times to prevent anything that could cause an inadvertent risk to road safety, as well as ensuring consistency to signage across the council area.

“The parish council has previously been offered to participate in the council’s community speed indicator device (SID) programme, as this location meets the criteria for the scheme.

“SIDs have been proven to reduce road speeds and are being successfully operated in over 60 communities across the Dorset Council area.”

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “We are aware of the fake speed camera at West Lulworth. We understand local communities who have concerns over speeding in their area are sometimes minded to take action and would just ask that they take care to avoid doing anything that might actually cause a distraction to motorists and inadvertently pose a risk to road safety.”