ANGRY campaigners are demanding measures to tackle dangerous driving in Bingley, with calls for speed cameras along the town’s bypass.

The calls came after the Green Party discovered there are currently no mobile speed cameras sited in the town.

Matt Edwards, of the Bingley Green Party, said: “This is really troubling news. There are mobile enforcement sites in neighbouring towns, so why is Bingley being being left behind?”

Bingley Conservative councillor John Pennington called for permanent speed cameras to be placed on the town’s bypass, which has speed restrictions of 50mph and 70mph.

Cllr Pennington said: “It’s a no-brainer to have cameras on the Bingley bypass. It is a regular racetrack. We definitely need them, especially in the 50mph section.

“The A650 is also a regular racetrack. I regularly see cars go on the wrong side of the bollards and central reservation. It’s complete madness. It’s got to stop. It’s very, very bad.”

In August, an uninsured driver caught speeding at more than 130mph on Bingley bypass – believed to be the highest speed recorded by police on the road – was disqualified from driving for two years.

Kahsam Farooq, 20, of Worth Avenue, Keighley, who was in a Volkswagen Golf R32, was caught during Operation Steerside, a crackdown on dangerous drivers in the Bradford district, at about 12.30am on May 16 this year.

Police were forced to reach 134mph to catch the Golf, and Farooq had to swerve hard to avoid hitting the centre of a roundabout due to his speed as he travelled through Bingley towards Keighley.

Simon D’Vali, chairman of the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, confirmed there were no mobile camera sites in Bingley, but said a number of casualty reduction schemes had been introduced in the town this year.

Mr D’Vali said: “The Partnership is currently reviewing the criteria for the deployment of fixed and mobile cameras across the whole of West Yorkshire. The proposals include a reduction to the speed limit outside Beckfoot School and also a casualty reduction scheme outside Bingley Grammar School.”

MORE TOP STORIES