SOUTH Devon's Greens have condemned moves to axe the body behind the county's speed cameras as an 'utter disgrace'.

Totnes Green county councillor Paula Black has accused the Government of putting cost-cutting ahead of lives. And she revealed that the Green Party would be lobbying MPs in an effort to stop the loss of the Devon and Cornwall Safety Camera Partnership and the 35 jobs that go with it.

She said: "We know that speeding vehicles cause accidents and deaths on our roads.

"The fact that road casualties have fallen 40 per cent over the past five years in our area is an indication of just how important these devices are.

"Why then are we allowing a culture to develop where cost cutting is seen as more important than saving lives?

"This is an utter disgrace, and perhaps the first indication of how the new coalition government values the well-being of its citizens."

Motorists in Devon and Cornwall were hit with speeding fines totalling £1.41million last year, but the body which operates speed cameras in the two counties looks set to be shut down, which could mean both fixed and mobile cameras being used less.

The news came as it emerged Government funding for speed safety partnerships has dried up, meaning the Devon and Cornwall partnership looks set to close by March next year.

Ms Black saod: "Speeding vehicles not only harm pedestrians, drivers and passengers, they also threaten economic sustainability in rural areas, as speeding vehicles divide communities and increase the use of journeys.

"As taxpaying citizens, we expect our government to act with care to us and to protect us from law breakers whose inconsideration threatens us physically. To see an increase in road traffic accidents and the misery that any premature death and physical injury creates is just not acceptable."

She said the South Devon Green Party will be writing to MPs in the area to demand action to save this unit from closure, and safeguard the jobs under threat.