AVERAGE speed cameras which cost more than £1million to install are not switched on, the Echo can reveal.

When a Freedom of Information request was submitted to Essex Police asking how many drivers had been fined for speeding along the 70mph stretch of the A127, the force said there was no data available as the cameras are not active.

They were installed by Essex County Council seven years ago.

A highways spokesman said the cameras, between the Alton Garden Centre and the Noak Bridge junction, act as a deterrent despite not being switched on.

Police insist the national speed limit zone is regularly patrolled by road safety officers, and the cameras could be activated any any moment without warning.

Nigel Le Gresley, county councillor for Wickford Crouch, has campaigned for improved safety measures along the A127.

He believes highways bosses may be waiting to extend the dual carriageway's 50mph section before switching on the average speed cameras.

He said: “Unless there’s a particular problem, why switch them on? In the future, they might make that stretch 50mph as well, which I think would be a good idea.”

The Echo reported last week more people than ever before were fined over the last year for speeding in the 50mph section of the A127, which does have active cameras.

In the space of 12 months, 2,831 people were caught flouting the limit.

Motorist Val Self, of Philmead Road, Benfleet, believes speeding is less common on the 70mph stretch as the road is often congested.

She said: “I’m not shocked that the cameras aren’t on. I think its common knowledge that a lot of speed cameras aren’t on all the time.

"When I use the A127 most people seem to stick to the speed limit to be honest. I visibly see people slow down when the limit changes to 40mph as you enter Southend.

“At the times when I travel it’s always quite busy so people can’t really speed as there’s traffic.

“I’m sure people do speed, you see motorbikes going in and out of the traffic and as with any dual carriageway it’s not the safest.

"Personally I don’t think it would make an awful lot of difference if they were switched on. Sometimes accidents are caused by speeding, but it’s also how people drive.”

Police information officer Kerry Nicholson, who handled the request for information, said: "At this point in time no camera activations have been recorded as the system is not in service. This situation however is subject to change.”

Essex County Council refused to explain the cameras are not in service.

A spokesman said the entire stretch of cameras had helped reduce the number of crashes.

A spokesman said: “All the safety cameras on the A127 have helped to significantly reduce the numbers of serious collisions since they were installed in 2009. They act as a deterrent, preventing people from driving at illegal and dangerous speeds. In addition to cameras, police also carry out patrols in both marked and unmarked vehicles.”