THE county’s most prolific speed camera has been revealed four months after the devices were switched back on.

Cameras were turned off last August after Oxfordshire County Council said it would not stump up £600,000 a year to help keep them on.

But the sites were reactivated on April 1 after police agreed to foot the bill.

Now figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show where motorists are most likely to be caught speeding.

The location with the highest number of speeding motorists is Worcester Road in Chipping Norton with 1,020 fixed penalty notices dished out in June, the most recent month for which figures are available.

Chipping Norton mayor Chris Butterworth said: “The reason is the change in the speed limit.

“It used to be a 40mph zone and now it’s down to 30mph.

“Initially people were getting away with it but presumably that interim time has passed and it’s getting everyone.

“The residents of Worcester Road still say there are large numbers of cars and lorries zooming along that road at all times of the day and night.

“We are all for action to stop speeding within the town.”

He added: “The other thing which may be a contributory factor is the camera is at the bottom of a dip so your speed increases in any case.”

In second place is High Street in Bloxham, with 229 offences recorded in June, followed by Buckingham Road in Bicester which caught 212 speeders.

The top three in May were Botley Road in Oxford (569 speeders), Oxford’s Banbury Road near Lovelace Square (444) and Worcester Road in Chipping Norton (392) In April, the first month after the cameras were reactivated, 1,701 drivers were caught in Oxford Road, Woodstock, followed by Oxford’s Woodstock Road (1,278) and Botley Road (737).

Overall, 4,962 speeders were caught on camera in Oxfordshire in April, falling to 3,375 in May and down again to 2,561 in June.

The figures may be skewed by the fact that not all speed cameras are always switched on.

In 2010, the April figure was 1,976, the May tally was 1,193 and 1,841 tickets were dished out in June of that year.

Ch Ins Gill Wootton of Thames Valley Roads Policing said: “These figures would suggest there may have been a change in drivers’ behaviour between the time the speed cameras were switched off last year and April, when they were turned back on.

“However, the number of drivers being caught speeding by the cameras has declined month-on-month since they were switched back on.

Thames Valley Police maintains that speed cameras are one of a number of important road safety tools which help to reduce the risk of serious injury and fatal collisions.

“Their reactivation encourages drivers to think about the speed they are driving, therefore helping to improve road safety.”