NEW statistics show a spy camera put up in Hampstead on the premise that businesses needed extra protection from crime is raking in at least £110,000 every year in fines by being turned on drivers.

Figures released to the New Journal under the Freedom of Information Act show the camera on the junction of Hampstead High Street and Perrin’s Lane has been used to clamp down on motorists making a No Right Turn rather than catching shoplifters.

Camden issued 2,748 penalty fines, which works out to around 52 tickets a week. Over a year, the council will have collected at least £109,920. The final collection is likely to be higher because £40 fines rise to £80 if they are not paid within a fortnight.

The level of fines is not as prolific as the 4,000 tickets dished out in the first four months that it overlooked the junction and are on a slow decline – but the figures still make it one of the parking department’s biggest money-spinners.

The installation of the camera was at the centre of hot debate three years ago when the former Labour administration was lobbied hard by residents and businesses who wanted the added protection of CCTV in Hampstead High Street following a series of break-ins.

The Town Hall agreed, but months later Conservative councillor Mike Greene said the council was using the camera for a different purpose altogether, warning: “Camden seems to be milking it for all it’s worth.”

Ironically, a change of power at the Town Hall later saw Cllr Greene become Camden’s environment chief and in control of the borough’s parking policies.
“I find it amazing that people haven’t learned about the No Right Turn,” he said when he was shown the number of fines still being issued from the camera last year.