THE police claimed back almost £1m from the speed camera scheme last year, the accounts show.

The force got the money in expenses for providing staff to operate the cameras and provide support services.

The police and other bodies like Warrington Borough Council contribute to the Cheshire Safety Camera Partnership.

They can then claim money back to pay for the cost of enforcing speed limits through the cameras. The police figure was £82,000 more than the previous year.

Cheshire Police provided nine police officers, two camera technicians and an administration team, as well as camera and communications equipment.

Lisa Lafferty, communications manager for Cheshire Safety Camera Partnership, said: "Our goal is to reduce the number of people being hurt on our roads - we want to make a difference.

"Unfortunately our cameras won't stop every collision from occurring, but what they can do is reduce the travelling speed of vehicles. Excessive or inappropriate speed is a contributory factor in up to 40 per cent of road collisions."

Cheshire Safety Camera Partnership generated £2.261m worth of fines for the last set of accounts available, from 2004 to 2005.

That came from 45,354 fixed penalty notices. There are seven fixed cameras in Warrington and nine mobile sites.

Agencies can only claim back their legitimate costs for running this scheme.

Surplus money is given back to the treasury. It is estimated that every road fatality costs £1.4 million while a serious injury costs approximately £168,000.