HAMPSHIRE police have launched a new war on Hampshire’s speeding drivers.

New hi-tech speed cameras are being installed at accident blackspots across the county.

Fitted with the latest technology they will take crystal clear pictures of culprits helping officers trap more drivers The older traditional cameras - many of which are more than ten years old and rely on antiquated 35mm film - forced police staff to spend long hours travelling to replace reels and carry out maintenance.

But the new equipment will take crystal-clear pictures of speeding motorists and upload them to police servers in real time without any additional police hours.

The move has triggered debate with Simon Letts, leader of Southampton City Council, admitting it was "welcome to see that the police are joining the 21st century".

But Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith suggested that the cameras should be targeted to keep children safe rather than maximise revenue, and Hampshire Police Federation chairman John Apter insisted properly-trained officers are more effective than cameras in tackling bad driving.

One of the hotspots identified is the A3024 Maybray King Way in Southampton which has seen 16 collisions causing injury in the three years leading up to March 31 this year, seven of which resulted in fatal or serious injuries.

A new camera has already been installed at the A33 Kingsway, Southampton, where there were 15 crashes resulting in injuries in the same period.

Simon Gomer, Safer Roads Unit and Driver Awareness training manager, said: "We are delighted to be upgrading many of our fixed cameras, which will help us to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the roads in Hampshire.

"We hope that the presence of our new cameras will encourage drivers to change their behaviour and drive at lower, safer speeds."

Police say the cameras will be replaced at priority sites where there is the greatest need to reduce the number of crashes and bring vehicle speed down, but would not identify the location or amount of any future camera sites.

Analysts will look at detailed incident and crash figures for the county's roads and pinpoint the sites where new cameras are most urgently needed before choosing the final locations.

But Mr Smith said: "I believe speed cameras have a place in keeping drivers, cyclists and pedestrians safer.

"However, I have frequently challenged the siting of speed cameras and so have many of my constituents.

"Why would a dual carriageway in a less populated area have priority over a school for example?

"I would rather see our children prioritised when it comes to upgrading cameras not areas where it is perceived that the cameras are generating revenue."

Last month a four-mile stretch of the A36 in Totton was named the second most dangerous stretch of road in the country and deemed "notoriously troublesome" by the Road Safety Foundation.

And in April thousands of drivers were caught speeding in just one week in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight as part of a police crackdown.

Mr Apter said: "We have seen that a police presence in the road influences driving behaviour, and not just in the 100 metres that a speed camera might influence behaviour.

"There are some devastating results from unsociable and dangerous driving and lives have been lost but police officers are more effective and reducing road collisions."

Mr Letts said he was in favour of the new technology being introduced.

He said: "If they are seen as being just for the police then they don't work - there's minority of motorists who see it that way but they are there for a reason.

"I would support that but not just for the sake of getting a few quid out of motorists."