THE price of Driver Awareness Courses in Dorset is set to rise again despite already being the most expensive in the country.

Motorists who opt to take the course instead of having penalty points on their licences will have to pay £105, a £5 increase on the current fee.

The national average is £84 and the lowest fee in the country is charged in Lancashire at just £69.

Courses are offered to some drivers caught speeding, jumping red lights or committing mobile phone offences.

Figures presented to Dorset Police Authority have revealed more than 88,000 courses have been taken up since they were first offered in April 2005.

The year to the end of March 2011 saw the highest number of courses at 20,507.

And those behind the scheme expect around 20,000 people to take up the course in this financial year, generating an income of around £2.1million.

In a report to authority members, Chief Constable Martin Baker said: “Feedback from participants has continued to be overwhelmingly supportive and the scheme has expanded to encompass mobile phone offences.”

But shoppers in Bournemouth did not agree. Wallisdown resident Simon Hibbard, 52, who has been driving since he was 18, said: “It’s just another way to scam more money out of motorists.”

He took part in the course and found it “extremely belittling, they talked down to you and constantly tried to make you feel stupid”.

Vicki Ghibirl, a software worker from Alum Chine, 29, believed the increase in price was ‘outrageous’ and thought “the prices shouldn’t change dependent on what part of the country you are from.”

Stephen Hill, 46, a charity retail manager from Lansdowne, who has been driving for 29 years, agreed with the price increase: “If you’re caught speeding you must do the time to pay for your crime.”