More drivers than ever before have been snapped speeding on the county's roads according to the latest figures from Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership.

From 2011 to 2013 - the most up to date figures made available to KentOnline - the number of drivers fined for speeding has gone up from 47,121 to 57,743, an increase of more than 20%.

This total includes both fixed cameras and mobile units on Kent's roads, including motorway cameras which are run by Highways England, previously known as The Highways Agency.

The camera that has snapped most drivers is on the A282 Dartford Tunnel Approach, north-bound towards Essex.

This one system, an average speed unit, recorded 6,149 speeding drivers in 2013, which could amount to more than £600,000 in fines.

And it is this system - installed towards the end of 2012 - that accounts for the sharp rise in fines according to Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership.

Not all cameras are as effective though.

The figures show some go from catching a few thousand drivers a year to none at all, a sign the camera has stopped working.

It's often cameras in the busiest places that suffer the most wear, and once they fail, it's not always easy to replace them.

A Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership spokesman said: "Some of our cameras operate using a trigger system based on piezo electric loops in the road surface.

"Safety cameras are by nature often in very high traffic locations where the road surface degrades at an accelerated rate, which can cause the camera trigger to fail.

"Some of these locations deem that the disruption caused and the cost of replacing the loops must be timed to coincide with scheduled surface replacement by Kent County Council, which can mean repairs are delayed."

But it's not motorway speeding the camera partnership is most concerned about - drivers that flout 30mph limits in built up areas are often more of a threat to pedestrians and other road users.

In Kent and Medway between the start of 2011 and the end of 2013, 119,139 motorists were captured exceeding a 30mph speed limit.

In the same period 311 pedestrians were killed or seriously injured in 30mph speed limit areas in Kent and Medway. Of these 122 were under 16 years old.

A spokesman said: "These statistics show it is crucially important motorists comply with speed limits.

"Streetlights mean 30 unless otherwise stated. Many motorists are unaware of the speed limit, some claim that they weren’t aware that the road was a 30mph limit as there were no speed limit signs present."

Despite the increasing number of drivers caught breaking the law, some are still getting away with it.

Nearly 2,000 overseas drivers were caught by the county’s speed cameras between August 2013 and July 2014, but because they are not registered with the DVLA, their vehicles cannot be traced.

The penalty for a speeding offence is a three point driving licence endorsement and £100 fine.

If within a certain threshold, drivers may be offered the option of a speed awareness course as an alternative.

Those suspected of high speed offences can summoned to court.

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