MORE than 1,200 motorists have been caught speeding in just three weeks by a single mobile camera.

Drivers have so far been fined up to £72,000 - seven times the average Lancashire speed camera's revenue in a year.

The device has been set up in a lay-by on the 70mph A56 Accrington bypass linking Haslingden with Huncoat and Hapton to enforce a 50mph limit during roadworks.

Critics labelled the move an obscene' money maker.

But police said it was necessary for safety as part of the central reservation barrier had been removed. And the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety - which runs the county's speed cameras - said it was ther to ensure drivers abided by the reduced limit.

The device will be on the A56 for another 13 weeks until the £2.8million project to lay a new road surface and lighting is complete.

It was first put in place at the end of May and is used mainly during rush hour.

A speeding warden has been setting up the camera in a layby just after a bend on the downward sloping northbound carriageway The fastest speed clocked was 94mph but many motorists have been given tickets for doing around 60mph.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said: "They really are raking the cash in on this camera. It is as if they have hit the jackpot by putting this camera there.

"It is obscene how many people have been caught. I think for those motorists that were doing under 70mph a warning letter would have sufficed.

"Why did they not put an electronic warning sign in place to slow the traffic down rather than a camera that is hitting the already hard-pressed motorist further?"

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "I am sceptical about speed cameras and I think most motorists are, especially when it comes to how much money is raised by them.

"One problem is that many of these motorists will have been caught when there were no workmen in the road and were probably driving quite safely."

Paul Watters, head of public affairs at motoring group the AA, said: "Our standpoint is that the best speed enforcement device in roadworks is one that operates just when there are workers in the road.

"If the road is free from obstacles the cameras should not be in place.

"If the cameras are catching such a large number of drivers then maybe the local Highways Agency needs to re-enforce the signage around the camera to warn about the reduction in the speed limit."Claire Armstrong, co-founder of campaign group Safe Speed, said: "Reducing speed from 70mph to 50 in many cases is unnecessary and provides no additional safety.

"You can't measure safe driving in miles per hour.

"This is not a scheme designed to increase safety but is designed to increase revenues from drivers and continues the persecution of motorists."

A spokesman for the police - which is part of the partnership - defended the location of the mobile speed camera.

The spokesman said that the number of motorists caught speed was "very high".

He said: "It is the safest location and is not designed to be hidden.

"The 50mph speed limit is in place to make sure that we minimise the risk of a crash because part of the central reservation barrier has been removed.

"The speed camera is not there 24 hours a day but is intelligence-led and is in place at busy times."

Staff at the LPfRS said that the number of drivers caught may include emergency vehicles and those who would be offered speed awareness courses for going just over the speed limit.

There are 345 speed cameras in Lancashire which brought in a revenue of £3.77million last year, meaning on average each one takes around £10,900 annually.

Last year 119,211 speeding tickets were issued.

A large portion of speed camera cash is sent back to the Government and the rest is used to meet the costs of running the partnership.