M25 speed cameras hit drivers with £14MILLION fines in just two years

SPEED cameras on the M25 have clobbered drivers with a £14million bill in just two years.

Gatsos snapped 142,979 speeding motorists who were sent letters in 2019 and last year.

Offenders were given the choice of a speed awareness course — which typically cost £100 — or points plus a £100 fine.

A small number had to appear in court because they had gone well over the speed limit — as low as 40mph or 50mph on some stretches — or because they were repeat offenders.

The data is from the four police forces — Kent, Essex, Surrey, and Hertfordshire — who control cameras on London’s orbital motorway.

The worst sections for speeding were the anti-clockwise approach to the Dartford Tunnel and the clockwise approach to the QE2 bridge.

Almost 50,000 drivers were caught there — accounting for a third of the total.

The figures rose in 2020 when lockdown made roads less congested.

Hugh Bladon, of the ­Alliance of British Drivers, said: “The speed limit should clearly be higher and 80mph would be much more sensible.”