SPEED cameras have cut crashes on Thanet's roads, according to figures published this week.

The Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership (KMSCP) has six cameras in Thanet.

Three, in Canterbury Road between Westbrook and Birchington, have clocked more than 400 drivers breaking the speed limit since 2003.

Crash rates double at night due to vehicle speed, alcohol consumption, tiredness and reduced visibility.

But annual statistics for collisions and injuries isle show a sharp reduction following the cameras' installation.

At every location, the frequency of serious accidents was reduced and, at one location in Canterbury Road, eliminated completely.

Average speeds measured at Northdown Hill and Canterbury Road have dropped by more than three miles per hour.

Chief Inspector Andy Reeves, head of roads policing and chairman of KMSCP, said: "The casualty figures speak for themselves and show that safety cameras have reduced the number of people killed or seriously injured at camera sites."

Jack Collinson, a driving instructor of Isle Drive, supports speed cameras, said: "The cameras are very effective and have a margin for error, so drivers have to exceed 35mph before they are caught over the limit.

"I know at Northdown Hill there were a few fatal accidents before cameras were installed there.

"Since the cameras went up, there are no more flowers tied to trees."

Details of locations are published on the partnership's website.