PLANS to install a new permanent average speed camera on a major road in north Cumbria have been welcomed by a councillor.

The A69, which links Carlisle to Newcastle, will see two cameras positioned along the road to help combat the growing number of speeding drivers.

Highways England say one will be located on the outskirts of Carlisle between Warwick-on-Eden and Corby Hill, while another will be installed in Northumberland between Haydon Bridge and Hexham.

The government agency added that the two cameras will be installed in a matter of weeks following a safety review.

The works, which are being carried out in partnership with Cumbria and Northumbria police forces, will begin between Hexham and Haydon Bridge next month, lasting up to six weeks.

In Cumbria, the camera will be while positioned into place at the end of October, with that work set to last about three weeks.

Highways England project manager Russell Mclean said: “The A69 is used by about 26,000 drivers every day and these essential improvements will make the road safer.”

Chairman of Wetheral Parish Council Barry Earp praised the announced that an additional camera would be operating in the area.

He told The Cumberland News: “On behalf of the parish council, we welcome this extra speed camera here.

“There has always been a concern regarding the speeding and traffic along that road, especially along the Aglionby turn-off after a lady was killed there several years ago.

“A lot of traffic on the A69 does exceed the limit and we [the parish council], are very concerned about speeding traffic.

“This is not only on the A69, but we’ve also been focusing on drivers who speed in our rural villages.

“We have an initiative at the moment to try and curb the amount of speeding traffic on the B6263, which is the road which goes from Wetheral to Cumwhinton.

“Several volunteers have been trained by the police with speed guns to ascertain the speed of motorists through Cumwhinton village, and this has been going on for the last two or three years.”

Two speed cameras were added beside the road at Corby Hill about five years ago, and have been credited for helping to slow down traffic.

“At the time when they were installed I was rather against it, but I am now of the opinion the cameras were one of the best things they [Highways England], have done in that area,” Mr Earp added.

Last year, it was revealed that a static speed camera based by the A69 at Warwick Bridge caught more than 17,300 motorists flouting the limits over a three-year period.

That, according to statistics, was the highest figure of nine static camera sites scattered across the county.

A camera situated further along the A69 at Low Row caught out as many as 1,099 drivers during the same length of time.