AN East Lancashire MP today insisted new speed camera figures fuelled fears that the eyes at the side of the road were more about finance than safety.

Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety is building up to a total 230 cameras round the county which it claims are vital in the battle against speeding motorists and fatal accidents.

But Hyndburn MP Greg Pope and some of his constituents are not convinced and he raised the issue with Transport Secretary Alistair Darling.

The answers he received have revealed that revenues from fines from motorists caught by speed cameras increased by more than 500 per cent in the four years to 2000, from £161,100 to £1,062,000.

The figures also show that the number of tickets issued because of speed cameras in the county rose from 4,028 to 24,500 in the same period.

They revealed that the number of cameras in Lancashire increased by just over 50 per cent from 97 to 147.

At the same time the number of road traffic deaths fell from 87 to 76.

Mr Pope said: "I welcome the reduction in road traffic fatalities in Lancashire. But what is really astonishing is the dramatic rise in the amount of money raised by speed cameras.

"That has gone up by 500 per cent while the number of accident deaths has fallen by just over 10 per cent.

"Motorists will draw their own conclusions from these figures, but it does seem to support fears that some of these cameras are more about raising revenue for the police than improving road safety.

"What's also staggering is the rise in the number of tickets issued. We've gone from an average just 77 motorists per week receiving tickets to an average of 471 per week in a space of just four years.

"At this rate of increase, bearing mind that every ticket puts three penalty points on your driving licence, there'll soon be no motorists left.

"I am in favour of road safety and I certainly want to stop speeding motorists.

"But I think it's worth asking whether we now have enough speed cameras and where the money goes -- on buying more cameras?"

Several constituents have raised the issue of speed cameras with Mr Pope especially when they are placed in areas where the speed limit has just been reduced -- in particular the A680 Whalley Road between Great Harwood and Clayton-le-Moors.

A spokesman for Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety said cameras were a vital tool in a bid to reduce accidents, with money from fines going to pay for extra cameras.

But, pressure group the RAC Foundation is asking for ministers to review the use of cameras, saying there is a major problem with motorists being caught out as a result of newly reduced limits.