Volunteers catch more than 45,000 drivers speeding

More than 45,000 drivers in Sussex have been caught speeding by volunteers over the last year, new figures have revealed.

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne shared the findings for 2024/25 during a meeting of the county's police and crime panel on Thursday.

Alongside the work of community speedwatch volunteers, the public reported more than 13,000 incidents of dangerous and antisocial driving via Operation Crackdown.

Presenting her annual report, the PCC said the figures were "quite sobering".

"It's no wonder we're seeing increases in collisions on our roads," she added.

Ms Bourne confirmed that another 772 reports were made via a separate road safety initiative, Operation Downsway.

As a result, more than 30,000 people were given the chance to attend driver training courses as an alternative to prosecution, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

At the end of March, Sussex Police left the Safer Roads Partnership and it was announced that a dedicated Fatal Five Roads Unit would be set up to deal with issues such as speeding.

The Fatal Five are driving offences which are the main contributors to serious and fatal accidents – excess speed, not wearing a seatbelt, being distracted by things such as a phone, drink and drug driving, and careless and inconsiderate driving.

Ms Bourne confirmed that the business case for the unit is now complete.

She said: "We're now in the process with the scoping team. That started this month and we're due that report in October.

"So hopefully it will be established in the new year. But these things take a while."

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