CONTROVERSIAL speed cameras in part of the region have generated almost £2m in fines in the past year.

But the man in charge of the project said last night: "We haven't hammered motorists - despite what they think."

Latest figures show that 30,000 tickets were handed to speeding drivers in the Cleveland Safety Camera Partnership area in the past 12 months - an average of one every 18 minutes.

Partnership manager Mick Bennett remained unrepentant and revealed plans to add two more sites to the list of 39 already covered by cameras.

He said: "It really is up to the motorist. They can either listen to reason and slow down, or ignore it and get caught. It might sound like a lot of tickets, but it is not a large number when you look at the amount of vehicle movements we have in the area every day."

The two new secret sites are included in the partnership's business case for 2004/05, which is being considered by the Department for Transport.

The project has been dogged by controversy since it was launched four years ago, with critics claiming it was designed to raise revenue rather than prevent accidents.

One camera, in Elwick Road, Hartlepool, made £7,500 in three hours - catching law-breaking drivers at a rate of one every 86 seconds.

There was outrage last year when two speeding North Yorkshire traffic officers successfully overturned their charges by arguing the camera signs on the A171, near Guisborough, east Cleveland, were not legal.