Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/28/2800.asp

6/7/2009

Speed Cameras in UK, Germany, The Netherlands Swiped, Smashed, Scorched
Vigilantes use a variety of methods to eliminate Scottish, British, German and Dutch speed cameras.

Vigilantes in town of Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire, England set fire to a speed camera on May 30. Firefighters arrived just after 3am to rescue the device located on the A605 Eastrea Road junction of Victory Avenue, the Wisbech Standard reported. Police have no suspects.

Last Tuesday in Scotland, vigilantes took out a speed camera on the A1 near Eyemouth. Officials with the local speed camera partnership told BBC News that it was "extremely disappointing" to lose another automated ticketing machine, as eighteen cameras have been destroyed in the Scottish Borders since 2004.

In the Dutch town of Noardbergum in Friesland, a pair of vigilantes grabbed a mobile speed camera and loaded in their car while two camera operators were looking the other way down the highway late last month. The operators only noticed what had happened after the car with the camera loaded in the trunk sped away. The agents were, however, able to take down the vehicle's license plate number. Police then caught the suspects, aged 22 and 23, WaldNet reported.

In Germany, a 76-year-old man slammed dead-center into a speed camera installation on Autobahn 1 last Sunday, Autokiste reported. The hit spread the twisted wreckage of the device across the road shoulder, exposing the film containing all of that day's citation photographs. An 80km/h (50 MPH) speed limit was in effect between the Ladbergen and Greven exits where the incident took place. The driver responsible pulled over a few hundred yards after the incident.