SAFETY cameras in Cumbria are generating more than £500,000 in revenue for the government, yet none of the money is likely to be used for road safety improvements on the county's roads.

Figures released by the Department for Transport, after a request submitted under the Freedom of Information Act by The Westmorland Gazette, show that speed cameras in Cumbria raised £1,618,740 during 2003/04, with a £524,619 surplus going to the Treasury.

Cumbria Safety Cameras team manager Steve Callaghan reiterated the point that the safety cameras were about reducing accidents and not raising money.

"Obviously, if you issue a fine, the money comes in but money is not under any of my objectives at all, it's as simple as that," he said.

"The money we bring in pays for the system, we don't have anyone at the other end saying you need to bring in £5 million."

He said he would prefer if the surplus money was used on road safety measures in the county. Although figures for 2004/05 have not been published, he said the surplus would be less than the previous year.

He also said money was spent on advertising to get the speed message across to people in Cumbria and he was looking at ways of putting funds towards the air ambulance, possibly by advertising on the side of the helicopters.

The Gazette's request for details under the Freedom of Information Act asked for the revenues accrued by safety camera fines (including drivers caught speeding and jumping' red traffic lights) from Safety Camera Partnerships across the country.

The data revealed safety cameras in England and Wales raked in a total income of £113,567,780, with a surplus of £21,690,421 going straight to the Treasury, to be spent on anything from health to education.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign that argues against automated speed enforcement, said the plug must be pulled on safety cameras.

"There has been an enormous expansion of speed cameras in Cumbria and no correspondence in road deaths having gone down and we have to ask why," he said.

"Partnerships are supposed to spend between five and ten per cent of their bloated budgets on convincing the public that their activities are worthwhile. They aren't and the public is increasingly unconvinced."

The safety camera area that generated the most income was South Wales, bringing in £7,281,180, creating a profit of £2,213,926.

The lowest was Cleveland, with an income of £1,268,640. Three of the 35 partnerships across the country recorded an operating deficit.