THOUSANDS of pounds in speeding fines have been wiped out after two incidents on the same stretch of carriageway.

Northumbria Police have been forced to pay back almost £7,000 in fines after issuing tickets with the wrong date.

A prankster also caused confusion on the same stretch of the road on the Team Valley trading estate in Gates-head, Tyneside, after illegally putting up a 40mph sign - the real speed limit on the stretch is 30mph.

A police spokeswoman said she could not say how many were caught by the illegal sign, but it could have been hundreds.

On one day alone, more than 100 motorists were caught on the estate's Dukes-way by the rogue sign.

Police believe the small sign was erected between October 19 and November 7 last year.

In a separate incident, police were to blame after issuing speeding tickets with the wrong date. Northumbria officers staked out the same stretch armed with a mobile speed camera on October 8.

Fines were doled out to speeding motorists clocked at exceeding the 30mph limit. But the tickets were printed with the next day's date.

Even though the drivers were speeding, police chiefs have been forced to withdraw the fines. Penalty points on their licences have also been rescinded.

A police spokesman said: "A batch of tickets issued on this part of the road on October 8 has been withdrawn because of a technical error on the camera which produced tickets bearing the next day's date.

"Anyone who was affected by this has already been informed and we have apologised to those drivers concerned for any inconvenience this may have caused."