THE number of speeding drivers caught by cameras in the Thames Valley area rose by 40,000 last year.

Police issued 148,378 speeding tickets last year compared to 113,361 in 2010, with one motorist being caught doing 142mph in a 70mph zone.

And the oldest driver was a 99-year-old travelling at 38mph in a 30mph limit, Freedom of Information figures show.

The £60 fixed penalty notices were dished out as motorists were caught by both fixed and mobile speed cameras.

The rise comes after Oxfordshire’s speed cameras were turned off in August 2010 to save the county council £600,000 a year.

But the cameras returned in April last year after the number of deaths on county roads rose by 50 per cent from 12 to 18, year on year.

Out of the speeding fines issued in 2010, 40,450 were paid, generating £2,427,000. And while drivers have six months to pay a fine, so far £2,426,520 has been raised from last year’s fines.

Most drivers were caught speeding in April last year with 15,354 tickets being handed out.

The quietest month was January, when 7,678 fines were issued. In December the Oxford Mail revealed the most prolific speed camera site in Oxfordshire brought in an average of £184 a day.

The two cameras on Botley Road, Oxford, caught 651 motorists speeding in 2010.

That brought in almost £40,000 in penalties.