8/23/2006
UK: Several Speed Cameras ScorchedA London speed camera and several others in South Yorkshire have been destroyed by vigilantes.
A speed camera in the London, UK borough of Barking and Dagenham was destroyed by fire late last Friday. A pile of tires was placed next to the camera located on Dagenham Road and then set alight, destroying the cabling within the camera post.
Vigilantes likewise destroyed or disabled a number of speed cameras in South Yorkshire. Most recently, a £25,000 (US $47,000) camera on the A61 at Staincross in Barnsley was destroyed for a second time along with a camera site on the A61 at Grenoside. On the A61 at Worsbrough, a motorist spray painted a speed camera lens black, rendering the automated ticket machine useless. Another camera on Fenton Road in Greasbrough in the town of Rotherham was severely damaged (see photo).
Police have no idea who is responsible for the attacks.