A single speed camera is catching more than a quarter of all speeders in Norfolk – including one driver who lost his licence after being clocked by the camera three times in five days.

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Just under 19,000 speeders have been caught since April this year by the 23 permanent speed cameras in Norfolk.

But a camera on the A1067 at Taverham is responsible for catching more than 5,100 of those.

The camera, which snaps motorists travelling in both directions, is in a 30mph zone on the Fakenham Road as drivers leave or enter the village.

In 12 months from April 2015 to April this year, it caught 1,800 drivers. But in the eight months since then, the camera has ticketed more than 5,100 drivers.

Eastern Daily Press: The Truvelo Speed camera on Norwich Road Framingham Earl. Photo : Steve AdamsThe Truvelo Speed camera on Norwich Road Framingham Earl. Photo : Steve Adams (Image: Copyright Archant Norfolk 2015)

It has surpassed the cameras on Norwich's Dereham Road as those which catch out the most motorists in the county, according to figures from Norfolk police.

Last year the camera on Dereham Road (Norwich-bound) issued 3,900 speeding tickets, but since April it has been surpassed by the cameras at Taverham and on Mile End Road on the Norwich ring road.

In total just under 31,000 drivers have been caught speeding since April, with 12,000 of them snapped by mobile speed cameras.

Only a fifth paid a fine with the rest opting to complete a speed awareness course, which costs £88 in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Eastern Daily Press: Horsford Community Speed Watch members next to Holt Road, that runs through the village where thousands of motorists have been recorded exceeding the 30mph limit. Photo : Steve AdamsHorsford Community Speed Watch members next to Holt Road, that runs through the village where thousands of motorists have been recorded exceeding the 30mph limit. Photo : Steve Adams

A handful went to court to challenge the ticket.

Anne Pointin, from the Norfolk and Suffolk road safety team, said: 'Any income that is made from cameras pays for the running costs of the cameras and any money spare goes into road safety.'

She said signs were in place warning drivers of the Taverham camera and said the rise in drivers caught there was because an old camera had been replaced with a more effective camera called a Truvelo.

Known as D-Cam, it does not require film and can either store up to 100,000 digital photos or send the photos in real-time to a back office in just seconds for processing.

Eastern Daily Press: Around 12,000 drivers have been caught by mobile speed cameras since April, including hundreds at the temporary 30mph zones around the NDR. Photo: Steve AdamsAround 12,000 drivers have been caught by mobile speed cameras since April, including hundreds at the temporary 30mph zones around the NDR. Photo: Steve Adams (Image: Copyright Archant Norfolk 2016)

The camera is going to be discussed at the next Norfolk Safety Camera Partnership Board.

Overall the number of drivers caught in 2015/16 fell by 17 percent from a record 52,000 the year before.

Nationally, however, the number of drivers ticketed rose to one million, the highest figure since 2010.

In Norfolk over 21,000 were caught by fixed speed cameras and another 22,000 by mobile speed cameras.

New cameras put up in Norwich have also caught hundreds of drivers.

Those cameras started this year at Barrett Road and Bishop Bridge Road and have caught almost 2,000 motorists in the city since April.

Two other new cameras – one at Rackheath and one in King's Lynn on the A17 are not yet operational.

On more rural roads, where speed limits are higher, fewer drivers are being caught – the camera on the A146 at Loddon ticketed the least amount of drivers this year.

Last year the camera on the A148 at Little Snoring caught the lowest amount of motorists.

But thousands of drivers are being caught on more rural roads by mobile speed cameras. More than a third of all drivers caught in Norfolk since April were ticketed by handheld or van cameras.

Mobile cameras have been particularly successful catching drivers in temporary 30mph zones around where the Northern Distributor Road (NDR) is being built north of Norwich.

This newspaper reported in September that 900 motorists had been caught in speed zones where the NDR was being constructed.

Mrs Pointin said police and Norfolk County Council decided where to put speed cameras based on crash statistics.

Motorist group the RAC has supported the introduction of more speed cameras and said the they cut the number of crashes.

Their latest research this autumn found average speed cameras cut the number of crashes resulting in death or serious injury by more than a third.

But the AA has been more sceptical, warning cameras can't catch dangerous drivers or drink-drivers.

'The fact is that cameras are really being used to replace police,' said AA president Edmund King last week.

Ban for man caught speeding three times

A 51-year-old Bowthorpe man has appeared in court after being caught speeding by the same fixed camera three times in just five days.

Alisdair Gooch, of Beloe Avenue, was charged with three offences of speeding after being caught on the A1067 at Taverham on May 27 this year when he was doing 36mph in the 30 limit, on May 30 when he was doing 37mph and on May 31 when he was again doing 37mph.

Gooch, who represented himself in court and pleaded guilty to each offence, was disqualified from driving for six months. He was also fined £200 and ordered to pay a £30 surcharge.

Norfolk's busiest speed camera

The most profitable speed camera in Norfolk has caught 5,147 drivers since April this year (including this correspondent) in the 30mph zone.

The camera is on the A1067 on the edge of Taverham and catches drivers heading towards Fakenham as they leave the village or enter it Norwich-bound.

Travelling into Taverham from Fakenham, the speed limit drops from 50mph to 30mph.

The area is not yet built-up but there is a busy junction ahead.

A sign on the opposite side of the road warns the limit is now 30mph and there is also a worn '30' painted on the road.

At night when the road is quiet and the markings are less clear, it is easy to see why so many drivers have been caught out here.

Driving in the opposite direction out of Taverham towards Fakenham it is more obviously a 30mph zone.

Drivers by this point will have been travelling slowly through suburban Taverham since they entered Drayton two miles earlier where another speed camera is in place.

They will also have just driven past a pedestrian crossing which should also have slowed them down.