LIKE many people in our area, I recently received a letter from Lancashire police informing me that they intend to prosecute me for being caught by their new speed camera travelling at a reckless 35mph in a 30mph zone -- on Colne Road in the Duke Bar area of Burnley.

The camera has been there for a couple of weeks at most and although the letter assures us that it is not part of a money-making scheme but is there to save lives, it most certainly seems to.

I am aware that drivers travelling at a mere 33mph have also been prosecuted.

And, far from saving lives, I would suggest that the camera could actually contribute to such problems -- it is in a busy shopping area, flanked by parked cars and a zebra crossing, which means that careful drivers, surely, find it is better to keep a vigilant eye on the road for potential disasters rather than keeping a close watch on their speedometers.

Providing you are driving slowly -- and I don't consider 35mph to be fast -- disasters should be avoided.

For what it's worth, I have appealed to the police as I consider the offence to be marginal and as we both have to rely on accurate readings from our respective machines -- their camera and my eight-year-old car

At the risk of being cynical, I fully accept this to be ignored and a £60 fine and a three point penalty on my licence to ensue.

If I commit the heinous crime of exceeding the speed limit by five mph, or less, three more times in the future, I stand to lose my licence.

Haven't there been enough problems in the area of late without pouring more fuel on the fire and isn't a little common sense called for in these cases?

ADRIAN PAYBODY, Lower Manor Lane, Burnley.