Cameras in the Medway Tunnel have now been switched on, so speeding drivers are facing the consequences.

Installed in the last week of June the average speed cameras - which clock drivers going faster than 50 miles per hour - have only been active for the last five weeks.

In their first 17 days of operation, an average of more than 30 drivers a day were fined - that's more than one an hour.

VIDEO: Speeding drivers will be clocked in the tunnel.

A Freedom of Information request by KentOnline showed that between Tuesday October 4 and Thursday October 20, Kent Police issued 545 penalty notices.

Motorists who are caught face a £100 fine and three penalty points.

The traps, located both ways between Anthony’s Way and Maritime Way, use automatic number plate recognition software to record each vehicle as it enters the tunnel, then again as it leaves – clocking those drivers who go above the 50mph limit.

The cameras, which record the average speeds through the underpass, were introduced as part of measures to reduce congestion around on the Medway City Estate and surrounding roads.

The council has installed traffic lights on the Gillingham side of the tunnel, to help traffic get off the estate more easily during rush-hour, following years of daily delays.

But a safety assessment flagged up the need for the cameras to stop people speeding through the empty tunnel when the lights go green.

The Kent and Medway Camera Safety Partnership says the aim of the cameras is to “reduce congestion as well as help the council manage incidents as safely as possible”.

Average speed cameras, as opposed to static spot cameras, reduce a so-called “bubble of compliance” effect – where vehicles brake to ensure they are below the legal limit and then immediately pick up speed again after passing the camera.

Ward Cllr Andrew Mackness said he wasn't shocked with the FOI figures: "If you look at the daily passage through the tunnel of 45,000 movements, I expected that to be more.

"Clearly there are problems with speeding through the tunnel and I think the average speed limit will help address some of the mindless driving and speeding that's taking place.

"Tunnels are dangerous places to drive through and unfortunately the rat racing, driving and speeding from St Mary's Island through to Medway City Estate has been a problem.

"We know of some of the tragic accidents that have happened recently - some of the dangerous activities of young people using it as a racetrack.

"I hope the cameras are contributing to stop that."

Meanwhile the traffic lights on the Gillingham side of the tunnel are still in testing phase. Trials began on October 26 and are due to continue between 4pm and 6pm on different days so the council can monitor the roads.

The council said early indications show that the use of the lights is having a positive impact on traffic leaving the Medway City Estate.

The controls can hold back traffic, creating a small gap on the Strood side.

This allows traffic leaving the estate greater opportunity to join the roundabout by McDonald’s.

With more than 45,000 vehicles going through the tunnel everyday and more than 5,000 people employed on the Medway City Estate, congestion in the area has been a major issue for some time.

Cllr Mackness added: "Speeding is dangerous. At the end of the day we have speed limits and everyone tends to drive to the limit, as opposed to driving to the conditions that you should do.

"It's very sensible at the end of the day to slow down - you don't speed in areas that are built up and that have a high volume of traffic and then you reduce the potential of serious accidents and injuries and fatalities occurring."

Roadworks to improve the A289 and the Anthony’s Way, Sans Pareil and Four Elms roundabouts will start in autumn 2017.