Speed cameras along a busy stretch of road where the number of dangerous accidents has been slashed are set to be switched on - more than a year after they were installed.

The string of eight Gatso cameras was introduced along a one-mile section of Leeds Road, between Thackley and Shipley, in October, 2002.

They will finally become fully operational at the end of this month.

Signs warning motorists about the equipment and the 30mph speed limit were also installed along the A657 at the end of 2002.

But despite the equipment not being operational, the signs have proved remarkably effective.

Along the route, between Briggate and Cote Farm Lane, the number of serious accidents has fallen from 25 in 2001, to 17 in 2002, and provisionally down to 11 in 2003. Of these there were no fatal accidents in 2002, but this figure rose to four last year.

Councillor Phil Thornton (Lab, Shipley East) said he was delighted the cameras were doing their job - even before they were switched on.

He said: "Clearly people are taking account of the signs and watching their speed along a stretch of road which saw some awful accidents."

The police will test the cameras over the next few days.

The programme was carried out with £140,000 from Bradford Council's roads improvement scheme.

A spokesman for the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, which installed the cameras, said the delay in switching them on was caused by a variety of factors, including waiting to have the electricity supply connected.