The police have explained why fines have skyrocketed by 600 per cent in the last two years in Wiltshire.

From April 2023 to April 2024 nearly seven times the number of fixed penalty notices were issued by Wiltshire Police in comparison to 2021/2022, rising from 1,496 to 9,964.

At £100 each if paid, this amounts to nearly £1 million pounds of tickets in a year from an average of 27 fines a day.

Wiltshire Police have explained the increase is due to increased investment in countering speeding drivers.

Jenn Holton, Wiltshire Police harm reduction lead, said: “The increase in fines reflects the additional resource we have been able to introduce over the last few years to target high-harm offenders who are causing significant risk on our roads, and create a safer road network for everyone who uses it.

The force now have dedicated community speed enforcement officers who target areas known for issues with speeding. 

The officers use specialist video equipment allows is used to prosecute speeders, resulting in speed awareness courses, fines, or, for persistent or high-harm offenders, a court appearance.

READ MORE: The roads Wiltshire police are catching the most speeders

The public also have a role, as the location of speeding officers is partly based on information received from the public, as well as work that teams of community speed watch volunteers put in across Swindon and Wiltshire.

Holton continued: “Even one speeder is too many. There’s a reason it is one of the fatal five offences – the offences which are most likely to lead to a serious injury or fatal collision. As we have seen all too often, speed kills.

“Not only that but it causes a significant amount of concern and frustration for pedestrians and other road users when people speed recklessly on the road.

“We are determined to clamp down on speeding and make our roads as safe as possible for everyone.”

In the first week of October Wiltshire Police were out in several parts of the county, targeting roads residents have raised concerns about.

Five motorists were caught driving above the 30mph speed limit in Hook in Royal Wootton Bassett and reported to police, but none were caught on Marlborough Road.

The road with the most speeders caught in Wiltshire is Thamesdown Drive in Swindon where 704 drivers were given speeding tickets this year.

Of those, 113 drivers were issued a fine and/or points on their licence and a further 590 were made to attend a speed awareness course. One of the drivers went to court.