ONE in six motorists are breaking the law by speeding at an accident blackspot - Yet the authorities have refused to install a speed camera.

Residents in Eastern Avenue, Southend, are outraged at the decision after they’ve been calling for a speed camera on the road for two years.

Ward councillor Brian Ayling is now seeking private funding for the £28,000 device, after asking council bosses: “How much is a life worth?”

Officers from Essex Police and the Safer Essex Roads Partnership, of which Southend Council is a member, carried out an extensive 36-month study on the west bound carriageway close to the roundabout with Sutton Road.

They found a disturbing 15 per cent of vehicles were travelling fast enough to be prosecuted for going above the 40mph limit.

Yet the road did not rate highly enough on the “collision severity score”- achieved by multiplying the the number of fatal crashes by five and adding the score to the number of less serious accidents within the last three years.

The last fatal crash on the road was in 2010.

A report discussed at the latest council traffic committee said the request “was not supported by the police”.

It added that if the request was granted - outside of meeting the set criteria- then residents in other areas could make similar requests.

Mr Ayling is not happy. He said: “There have been a lot of accidents along that road. What we are saying is that it’s a walk through for school children at Cecil Jones and Temple Sutton School.”

The council report said that alternatives to a speed camera had been offered.

It said: “Following a meeting on site officers suggested an alternative solution by installing rumble strips to influence driver behaviour and reduce speed. This was rejected by the ward members.”

But Mr Ayling said such measure would do little to alleviate the problem. He said: “All we want is a speed camera, it’s the only effective way of slowing them down.

“Unfortunately, the police and the road safety partnership did tests but it doesn’t meet the criteria to put a speed camera in.

“So we have got to pay £27,500 to put one in, even though it’s the police who will profit from it.”

Mr Ayling said investment has been sought from private donors and he and fellow councillor Paul Van Looy are close to getting funding.

The camera would be installed close to Cromwell Road, just before the junction.

Mr Ayling added: “I have asked them: ‘What is a life worth?’ Is it worth £27,500?

“It’s a busy road but at the quiet times we will see cars do 50-70mph and at night it’s a virtual racetrack.

“All the residents along Eastern Avenue want it because of the speed of traffic. During the study, 15 per cent of cars along there were speeding and could have been prosecuted.”