A1 fake speed camera: Interest in more from villagers

A man who has been asked to take down a fake speed camera has refused to do so and said others in his village are interested in having one.

Mike Lacey, 72, installed the camera in Beeston, Bedfordshire, a village which is effectively split in two by the A1.

A speed camera on the northbound side is currently out of operation and Mr Lacey said drivers were reaching 90mph (144km/h) on the 50mph (80km/h) road.

He said he will not remove the dummy until there is a "successful solution".

Highways England said it was designing a "replacement system" and could not support Mr Lacey's installation.

Mr Lacey said a Central Bedfordshire Council officer asked him to remove the camera after a complaint from Highways England, which said it distracted drivers.

Mike Lacey has vowed to keep the dummy camera until a solution is found

The retired petrochemical engineer decided to take things into his own hands "because nobody has shown any sign of rectifying the situation at all".

The dummy on Mr Lacey's Grade II-listed building looks like an average speed camera, made out of drain pipes, guttering and downpipes all bought for about £40 from a local DIY store.

He said: "The camera I've put up works. When you watch traffic on the A1 now come to the speed camera I erected you can actually see brake lights coming on."

The real speed camera on the northbound A1 is currently out of operation

When the story was first reported in the media, Mr Lacey was on holiday, but he said the exposure "hasn't gone unnoticed in our village".

"My son... actually informed me that, if I want, he's got eight other villagers who would willingly put speed cameras up on their properties," he said.

"I'm faced with a potential order book of eight more of these cameras."

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A Highways England spokesman said: "We are designing a replacement system for this section of the A1, which will encourage better compliance with the speed limit, and in the meantime the police can use mobile speed enforcement vans."

A Central Bedfordshire Council spokeswoman said last week: "Given that Mr Lacey is now aware that Highways England are in the process of designing a replacement system for tackling speeding on this section of the A1, we have not issued any formal planning enforcement notice."