The traffic officers will be introduced in the South East from next July

The officers will be controlled from a new operations room at Godstone, in Surrey, which is under construction.

The Highways Agency traffic officers will only be able to carry out routine work, such as clearing debris and sorting out minor incidents.

They will allow police officers to concentrate on more serious issues.

The traffic officers have been working around the area of Birmingham for the last three months, but will be introduced on the M25 and the M23 from next July.

'Disjointed reform'

They are paid more than many police constables, even though they have fewer powers and less training.

They have no legal powers of enforcement, and cannot arrest people for speeding.

There will be more than 1,000 of the new officers around the country within two years, with seven regional control centres.

The Godstone centre will control Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

There has been a mixed reaction to the initiative from police officers, with the Sussex Police Federation saying the proposal "has taken place without proper evaluation and is just one element of the disjointed reform taking place".