OVER 17,000 motorists have been caught speeding on the A494 and A483 50mph zones since October, figures have revealed.

Statistics released by the Welsh Government last week show that since the average speed cameras on the 50mph stretches were activated, 17,405 'advice' letters have been issued to speedsters.

The letters are sent to drivers to inform them they broke the speed limit, but they are not formal Notices of Intended Prosecution.

But since active enforcement measures were introduced in November 2021, 1096 speeding motorists have been sent Notices of Intended Prosecution (NIPs). Prior to last autumn, the cameras had not been live.

The Welsh Government has said that those who received NIPs will either be committing the offence for the second time (the advisory letters are only issued once) or they have significantly exceeded the speed limit. As is usually the case, there are more people committing a first offence and only marginally exceeding the speed limit - therefore more advisory letters.

The 50mph zones were introduced three years ago to cut emissions - where in the areas of the A494 in Deeside and A483 in Wrexham emissions were higher than the European Union's legal directive.

The figures, released as a response to a Freedom of Information request, show that emissions in the 50mph zone on the A483 in Wrexham dropped by 45 cent between 2018 and 2020. In Deeside, emissions dropped by 37 per cent.

However, the Welsh Government has acknowledged that reduced traffic levels during the lockdown periods of the pandemic have to be taken into consideration when analysing the figures.