Motorists' group 'dedicated to smashing speed cameras'

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A motorists' group claims to have vandalised hundreds of speed cameras across Britain, and says it's behind a string of recent attacks in one county.

Motorists Against Detection (MAD) - which claims to have 200 members - says it carried out around six attacks in Norfolk, where cameras were set alight and vandalised.

MAD spokesman Captain Gatso - whose nickname refers to a brand of speed camera - said: "In the whole of the UK there's a couple of hundred active members carrying out attacks of this nature.

"In the range of 600 cameras have been attacked in the last couple of years by members of the group."

He says MAD supports the use of cameras in built-up areas, and that it opposes them on trunk roads and motorways where there are never any children playing.

Captain Gatso says a plastic explosive had been used to damage cameras in the Midlands in the last few months, and other attacks have included spraying paint and cutting off the camera with angle grinders.

Norfolk Casualty Reduction Partnership, which operates the county's 15 cameras, says more than £100,000 worth of damage has been caused by the vandalism.

Spokesman Bryan Edwards says serious injuries have reduced by more than 50% in the past 12 months in areas where there are cameras.

A spokeswoman for Norfolk Police said: "This criminal activity is the work of a tiny minority of irresponsible people who are endangering the lives of the public and it is only a matter of time before they are caught."