Speed cameras on the Thames

Published: Monday, 05 October 2009

THE Environment Agency is now operating speed cameras on the Thames, that were promised early in the summer.

The agency is launching a crackdown on speeding  boats after an increasing number of incidents involving boaters going too fast, and a successful prosecution, Alan Tilbury relates.

Radar gun operator Matt Strange was out on the river bank at Abingdon last week checking the boats as they went past, and telling:

"In the past year, we've seen a notable rise in the amount of speeding boats. This is our way of saying it won't be tolerated.

"Last year, a boater was taken to court for speeding and fined more than £1,000, so we're serious. If we catch you, you will be flagged down by an interceptor boat and given a warning, but possibly more."

The agency is concerned about bank erosion and problems for other boaters caused by speeding boats.