Speed cameras on London Road to be switched on this week.

New average speed cameras will be switched on at a Preston accident black spot this week.

The cameras on a 0.7 mile stretch of the A6 between the Capitol Centre (Winery Lane) and Albyn Street East will go live on Thursday.

Tests carried out by police ahead of the operational launch of the cameras caught more than 100 drivers per day.

But police insist the speed trap is about road safety not profiteering.

Lancashire Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Constable Tim Jacques, Chair of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership, said: “As I said earlier this year when we announced plans for the average speed scheme, we simply don’t want to catch motorists speeding.

“These routes all have a significant record of collisions resulting in both death and serious injury. It is our aim to reduce these numbers and for all drivers to adhere to the safe speed limits on our roads.

“With the first route now set to go live, we want road users to comply with the limit and play their role in making our roads safer for everyone.

"We know that during our test phase over the past few weeks, an average of 100 motorists a day would have been detected speeding by the cameras.

“We are striving for a Lancashire where we prevent all collisions that result in death or serious injury and I am confident that using this type of enforcement will play a vital role as part of this vision.”

The A6 site is the first of eight planned for Lancashire.

Clive Grunshaw, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire said: "In the last five years 13 families have lost loved ones in accidents on these roads and 62 people have experienced life changing injuries.

"The road safety partnership had to act to make sure motorists slow down and reduce the risk of death and injury and ensuring the speed limit on these roads is effectively enforced."

The Lancashire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP) gave the go ahead for the scheme last year and in January announced the chosen routes where 13 people lost their lives in collisions in almost six years and 62 people suffered serious or life changing injuries.

The cameras will use number plate recognition technology to detect vehicles and calculate their average speed by measuring the time taken to travel between fixed points of a known distance apart.

Average speed check signage will be used to inform drivers that they are entering an average speed control zone.

County Councillor John Fillis, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "Adopting new safety measures has been key in helping to make our roads safer over many decades, and I'm glad that average speed cameras are now another tool we can use.

"While we've made a great deal of progress in reducing the overall number of casualties there are some roads in Lancashire where the record of serious speed related incidents remains high, despite considerable investment in targeted safety engineering measures.

"The evidence from elsewhere in the UK strongly suggests that average speed cameras will help to tackle this problem, and I look forward to seeing the difference they will make."

Where eligible drivers caught speeding will be given the opportunity to attend a speed awareness course or accept a conditional offer of a fixed penalty (currently a £100 fine and 3 penalty points).

For higher speeds the matter may be referred to court.