Neither Kent Police nor BT has been able to confirm when a £73,000 set of new cameras will be switched on.

The automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system has been in place between the bridges and Cowstead Corner for months.

They were due to be switched on in February this year.

BT was originally blamed for not connecting the cameras but in August it was understood issues had been resolved and the big switch-on would take place shortly after.

But, months later, the cameras are still not in use.

When we contacted Kent Police for a comment, they said their infrastructure was all ready to go and has been for some time but they are waiting for BT to address issues.

However, they were unable to contact the person within Kent Police who was dealing with the matter and so BT was unable to find the person responsible at its end.

A spokesman for the firm was only able to say it is continuing to investigate and is trying to find a way to liaise with Kent Police.

When it is launched, the system will cover all six lanes of traffic coming and going on and off the Island and is designed to alert police to vehicles of interest such as those used to commit a crime or owned by a disqualified driver.

They can also pick up on untaxed vehicles and those without an MoT.

All information taken by the cameras is linked to systems such as the police national computer and the DVLA.

They also feed information directly into police patrol cars so they can view live images from the cameras and respond immediately.