A new average speed camera is to be added to the main road between Falmouth and Helston at the village of Trewennack as checks show limit being flouted

Rather than only monitoring a small part of the road, it will measure the average speed of drivers travelling through the entire 30mph speed limit section, using automatic number plate technology.

Digital images of offences will be transmitted directly to the appropriate police station.

Colin Chapman, clerk to Wendron Parish Council, which covers Trewennack, said: “Wendron Parish Council welcomes the provision of these average speed cameras at Trewennack and hopes that they will both serve to educate motorists about the very real dangers of speed and will lead to drivers affording greater consideration to their fellow road users.”

Cornwall Council said speed checks carried out at Trewennack showed motorists regularly exceeded 30mph, with a recent survey showing more than 14,100 motorists travel through the village each day.

Councillor Loveday Jenkin, Cornwall Councillor for Crowan and Wendron, whose division Trewennack falls within, said: “I am pleased that these cameras will slow traffic through Trewennack and make the lives of the residents slightly safer.

“This is a first step to the necessary improvements to the A394 to ensure that the people of Trewennack and the surrounding area can be protected from the large number of cars and lorries that daily pass through the village along the strategic route between Falmouth and Helston.

“I am looking forward to the day when residents can cross the road and walk and cycle around the area without having to brave the stream of traffic and take their life in their hands.”

Cornwall Council has said that while details of all vehicles passing by would be captured, only those exceeding the speed limit and facing prosecution or a fine would be stored.

It added that the majority of offences would be dealt with by offering eligible drivers the option of attending a speed awareness course, while cases involving higher speeds - or where the drivers were ineligible for the course, or had a particular preference - would be dealt with by fixed penalty, or in more extreme cases via the courts.