SPEEDING motorists on North Yorkshire's roads are forking out almost £1,000 a day in fines.

Police in the county issued 5,867 speeding tickets between April 1 2005 and March 31 2006.

That amounted to £352,560 in £60 fines.

Last year The Press told how some neighbouring forces brought in millions of pounds in fines by using roadside "yellow boxes".

But North Yorkshire police chiefs decided to rely on a team of 85 traffic cops to enforce the limits, instead of installing controversial fixed speed cameras on the county's 6,000 miles of roads.

The number of fines has crept down since then - with 6,417 issued in 2004 and 5,863 in 2003.

North Yorkshire Police spokesman Tony Lidgate claimed there was no need for fixed speed cameras in North Yorkshire because the county did not have any "accident blackspots."

He said: "There aren't any in North Yorkshire because the council and highways authorities are so good at making the roads safe they have pretty much got rid of any really awful accident blackspots.

"We do get roads where there are more accidents than you would expect, but that's not because the roads are dangerous - it's the drivers and riders."

He said the "great majority" of accidents on the county's roads were caused by people using speed inappropriately.

"It means work and resources from the police, fire and ambulance services," he said. "But more important is the toll in terms of destroyed families, destroyed relationships, parentless children and such forth.

"Speed lies behind so much of this.

"But driving at the appropriate speed is not just about driving at the speed limit. It's also about taking conditions into account."

He said the force had decided not to use "a scatter-gun approach" through speed cameras opting instead to take the enforcement to where it was needed.

He said one way the police were targeting speeders was by making them talk to police officers and watch a video, where a victim of a road accident talks about the implications of speeding.

"We often use a 'talking to people' approach to speeding, making them see that it is wrong, but obviously you can't do that on the A1 because it would be dangerous," he added. "The force does it in the appropriate way according to the situation."

Paul Smith, founder of the speed camera lobbying group Safe Speed, said speed cameras made the roads more dangerous and applauded police for targeting problem routes and dangerous roads with mobile patrols rather than permanent cameras.

But a spokesperson for Brake, the road safety group, said: "Speed kills. Speed cameras are essential in the fight against speed. Research at speed camera sites shows casualties are reduced."

Updated: 09:06 Monday, April 24, 2006