The small community of Greenfield in Flintshire has been one of the areas where police have stepped up their campaign against speeding motorists.

On the whole the move has been welcomed by residents in the village which is centred around the A548 - a busy road link between Flint and Prestatyn.

The speed cameras are a brilliant idea because they should stop people speeding and there are a lot of children and old age pensioners round here

Shop owner, Anne Ogden

Many have acknowledged the need to enforce limits in accident black spots and the direct correlation between speed and the number of road incidents.

Anne Ogden, 48, owns Springfield newsagents in Greenfield close to where a speed camera has been erected and recently painted.

The camera is located directly after a bridge and close to traffic lights on a pedestrian crossing.

Mrs Ogden said that she has witnessed several accidents on the road directly adjacent to her shop.

She said: "With the crossing being so near to a junction people coming down the hill are having to slam on their anchors because the crossing is on stop and other cars are coming down the hill and hitting them.

The camera is well signed

"The speed cameras are a brilliant idea because they should stop people speeding and there are a lot of children and old age pensioners round here."

"In a morning when people are dashing about I think the cameras do have some effect."

North Wales Police have insisted the cameras and mobile units involved in the force-wide initiative will be highly visible.

It is a move which has been welcomed by Brian Hamilton, 50, from Greenfield.

He said: "In dangerous areas the speed cameras are a good idea but when they are hidden away they are a bad idea."

"When you can't see the cameras and the road is clear I think it is really bad, I think they could spend their money on other things like catching the real criminals."

"However I would say that this is a dangerous area, it is a built-up area.

The police are always out to catch you, you know they are standing there with the radar guns sometimes you feel a bit sorry for the motorists

Linda Hodge, housewife

However some of the road users in the area remain sceptical about the effectiveness of the scheme.

Housewife 48-year-old Linda Hodge from Pen-y-maes said: "Everyone slows down until they get to the corner and then they speed up.

"This bit is a black spot but do any of us keep within the speed limit.

"They are putting more and more of these speed cameras up and in certain areas where there are a lot of accidents and where children are getting hurt, then yes I agree they should have some sort of deterrent.

Deterrent

"But it is very difficult it always seems the police are always out to catch you, you know they are standing there with the radar guns, sometimes you feel a bit sorry for the motorists."

Shirley Jones, 66, from Greenfield believes the static cameras are a much fairer way of enforcing speed limits than mobile units.

She said: "They are a good deterrent and most people take notice of them and they have certainly slowed the traffic down in the areas which I know.

"It is far better than a police man jumping out at you like a bat out of hell with a camera.

Mrs Jones added: "The speed cameras should be visible and signed before you get to them so you know where they are so that, even if you do get the people who slam on their breaks at the last minute, they will be observing the speed limits."