Eight speed cameras on a one-mile stretch of road are planned to be switched on within the next three weeks, it was revealed last night.

Ron Miller, of the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, said the string of Gatso cameras in Leeds Road, Shipley, would become operational in February, despite being introduced last October.

Speaking at the Windhill and West Royd Neighbourhood Forum, Mr Miller said NPower (formerly Yorkshire Electricity) was the company contracted to turn the cameras on. He said despite the plan to switch the cameras on this month there had been a delay in work.

The Telegraph & Argus reported earlier this month that there had not been a single crash on the stretch between Briggate and Cote Farm Lane since the cameras had been built.

Six people were involved in serious accidents on the section of the A657 in 2002 before the cameras were installed.

Signs warning drivers that the limit is 30mph, have also been erected.

But Windhill and West Royd residents at the meeting said many drivers were now using roads on housing estates close to Leeds Road as rat-runs to beat the cameras and the queues of traffic at peak times.

They suggested a Bradford Council traffic officer should carry out a survey on nearby roads to determine the amount of traffic using the side-streets to see if traffic calming measures were needed in those areas.