20mph limit is too slow for the village with nation's most prolific speed camera

IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY SO MANY DRIVERS ARE BEING FINED

- By OWEN HUGHES Chief Reporter

Speed camera in the background with the 'hidden' warning sign in bushes on the left

THE introduction of the 20mph limit on a vast majority of 30mph roads in Wales in the September of 2023 has seen a general increase in drivers caught breaking the speed limit in the country.

But nowhere is this more stark than a corner of north east Wales where a village’s camera has become the most prolific in the country - hitting the pockets of thousands of drivers.

The numbers tell the story about this speed ‘trap’ in Pontybodkin in Flintshire. In 2024 there were 13,442 offences at this spot - where drivers hit (and surpass) the 26mph threshold when enforcement kicks in.

For context across the whole of Wales that year just over 85,000 motorists were caught breaking the 20mph speed limit, with 36,710 of these in North Wales.

This means this single camera generated over a third all the fines dished out in the north, and around 16% of all fines in Wales.

Figures for the first five months of 2025 show more than 5,000 offences were detected at the same spot.

An example of those caught out was a courier who was pinged 10 times on this stretch of the A5104 in a matter of a few weeks. The camera was only installed shortly before the new default limit came in so it's hard to measure how it compares with when this road was 30mph.

Interested in why so many drivers were being caught out on this section I took a drive to the area to see for myself. I came into the village from the Ruthin direction with Treuddyn the immediate village before you reach Pontybodkin.