POLICE have used tractors and even a horse box to hide speed cameras on rural Yorkshire roads.

Drivers have spotted a John Deere tractor parked on a verge near Sledmere, as well as a 4x4 towing a horse box - containing speed cameras set-up to catch unsuspecting drivers.

 

Humberside Police said the tactic is being used to target high speed offenders who travel as fast as 100 mph on the East Riding if Yorkshire's country roads.

Inspector Mark Hughes said: “At the moment Humberside Police are conducting Operation Kansas in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This operation runs alongside the well-established and much publicised Operation Achilles, it is concerned with ‘high-end’ speeding offenders in the East Riding, deploying speed cameras, which are located in a variety of stationary vehicles."

The cameras are catching motorbikes in particular speeding along the road, he said.

Inspector Hughes added: “Vehicles, which are detected travelling at very high speeds, are stopped further along the road and drivers/riders are spoken to and dealt with at the roadside. Although the majority of offenders are motorcycles, a number of cars are also dealt with on this operation. We regularly record speeds in the high 90’s and over 100 mph, these being on country roads where the National Speed Limit of 60 mph is in force."

Such high speeds pose major dangers of the country roads, he added: 

“It goes without saying that such speeds on these roads are inherently dangerous, particularly when you consider how many side roads and field entrances there are. Someone pulling out onto the road does not expect a vehicle coming towards them at such high speeds, the likelihood of a catastrophic collision is raised considerably.

“Our operation conforms to national guidance around the use of speed cameras within unmarked vehicles and it is very much aimed at the small percentage of riders/drivers, who insist on driving at dangerously high speeds on our country roads, not only endangering themselves, but other innocent road users.”