Shropshire named as speeding hotspot

The force which covers Shropshire came out as the third highest issuer of enforcement notices in a freedom of information request.

New figures have revealed that 62,503 speeding tickets were handed out by West Mercia Police last year.

UK Carline submitted Freedom of Information requests to all the UK’s police forces and 19 out of 43 forces responded to the request.

West Mercia registered 19,741 fewer offences in 2017 than in 2016.

Out of the responses received, West Yorkshire was revealed as the area that issued the most speeding tickets during 2017, racking up more than 142,000 offences, just under 80,000 more than Surrey who registered the second highest number of offences, at 62,623.

West Mercia Police force gave out the third highest number of tickets out of the forces that responded to the request for information.

The City of London constabulary was the police force to issue the least speeding tickets in 2017, with only 3,107 speeding offences registered.

West Mercia Police handed out more speeding tickets than Dundee with 60,465 and North Wales with 57,224.

The fastest speed clocked in a 70mph zone last year was 160mph by West Yorkshire Police, while 106mph was clocked in a 30mph zone by Dundee Police.

Victoria Bristow, spokeswoman for West Mercia Police, said: “Detecting those that chose to risk travelling in excess of the legal limit is a top priority for West Mercia Police.

“Our policing area is one of the largest in the country so it’s no surprise that we feature high up in the list in terms of the number of notices issued.

“Speed enforcement will continue to form an important part of our roads policing throughout 2018.”