One of the yellow-painted Gatsos installed in Stockport in June/July 2002, on the A560 Brinksway heading towards M60 Junction 1. The picture exaggerates the open aspect of the road here, as it is just entering a steep, twisting descent - hence the armco to protect the footpath - and drivers are unlikely to be exceeding the trigger speed even when passing the camera. This is therefore a sensible camera location, but one that is unlikely to catch many offenders.

The camera above viewed from the opposite direction. As its view of the road is obscured by foliage it's hard to see how it can catch any offenders. The vegetation may be trimmed back when the calibration lines are painted on the road.

A picture of the same camera in October 2006. The latest DfT guidelines on camera signing require a combined camera warning sign and speed limit repeater to be placed in the same field of view as the camera, answering the frequently voiced concern that speed limits were unclear at camera sites.

Another Stockport Gatso, on the eastbound A560 in Cheadle Heath just after leaving the M60 spur at Roscoe's roundabout. It would be very hard to miss this one!

A camera on the B6104 in Lower Bredbury, Stockport. Although this is a 30 limit it is a fairly open road descending a hill, where drivers may well be travelling some way above the limit. It's hard to see how this can be classified as a blackspot for speed-related accidents. The picture also shows a particularly daft application of wide, red central hatching.

A Gatso on the A34 Handforth/Wilmslow bypass, where the speed limit was reduced from NSL (70) to 50 mph during 1998, and the camera shown was installed by Stockport MBC in 2002. The photograph clearly shows this to be a well-aligned, armco-equipped, pedestrian-free dual carriageway, so how this location can qualify as a blackspot for speed-related accidents is beyond belief.

In May 2009 the Gatso shown above was replaced by a pair of Monitron cameras, which can also catch drivers in the northbound direction.

Another view of the pair of Monitrons, clearly showing the straight, open and undeveloped aspect of the road. This really should be NSL, not 50.

This Gatso on the A6 at High Lane, south of Stockport, obviously isn't succeeding in reducing accidents.

A reversible Gatso on the A6 Wellington Road North in Stockport. Because of the presence of a Pelican crossing and a busy staggered crossroads, this is actually not an unreasonable site for a Gatso. Drivers still brake for it even if it's pointing in the opposite direction. High-visibility treatment would make it better, but even without it's hard to miss. The road is wider than it appears here, and in the absence of the cycle lane two vehicles could comfortably travel abreast.

A close-up view of the Warwick Road Gatso

Another view of the Warwick Road Gatso, looking north. It has now been given a coat of yellow paint in line with Stockport's other cameras

Twin Gatsos on the A6 at Hazel Grove, south of Stockport town centre. These are situated in a short stretch between two sets of traffic lights where, during most of the day, you are lucky to be able to reach 30 anyway

This picture, on an unclassified 30-limit road between Mottram and Broadbottom in Tameside, Greater Manchester, shows a well-camouflaged, green-painted speed camera with two speed warning boards which flash a message to drivers if they are exceeding the limit. These cameras are not Home Office approved and cannot be used to prosecute drivers - so what is the point?

A close-up of the camera in the picture above, showing how well it blends in against the background.

A closer view of one of the speed warning boards.

In early 2003 the camera referred to above, and the other similar ones in the area, were replaced by this new design. It is believed these are still of a non type-approved variety and cannot be used for prosecutions. This camera has subsequently been painted the same shade of leaf green as the one shown above.

A black-painted Gatso, half-hidden by foliage, on the A6144 between Sale and Carrington, an entirely rural road where the speed limit has been reduced from NSL (60) to 40.

This camera has now (September 2002) been given a high-visibility treatment and the foliage has been cut back

The same camera viewed from the front

In December 2002 a SPECS speed averaging camera system was set up on the A616 Stocksbridge bypass in South Yorkshire. The photo shows the distinctive yellow overhead gantries. This three-lane road with alternating overtaking lanes has a poor accident record. Whether the cameras will improve this remains to be seen.

A closer view of the cameras above.

If you look carefully, you'll see the pole of a Gatso hidden behind this sign in Denton, Tameside. This is a rare Gatso in a 20 mph limit - although it's doubtful whether it's actually working.

A side-on view of the camera above, showing its somewhat dilapidated state.