SPEED cameras proposed for an accident blackspot in Teddington could make the busy road more dangerous if imposed without proper consultation, say residents.

The council, in collaboration with the police, hope to install a new speed camera on the south side of Sandy Lane as well as one on the north, Teddington bound, side.

The lane has been the scene of several fatalities in the past and a serious accident in which a car span off the road into a front garden.

The camera was proposed by the council last month before going to the Transport Consultative Group.

Whilst residents are desperate to have both cameras and a crossing on this dangerous street, they preferred that they were not, as currently proposed, in front of residential properties or directly opposite a bus stop.

Teddington Cllr James Mumford suggested an alternative site further back towards Teddington, backed by residents which would discourage speeding on the approach to the lane.

On Wednesday morning a meeting between local Cllr Mumford the police and Dr Cable attempted to resolve the issue

However, the police and council hope to position the camera where it will record the highest number of speeding offenders.

Twickenham MP Vincent Cable, who originally campaigned to have cameras and other traffic calming measures due to dangerous speeding along this road , said: "There is a danger of a very popular and necessary intervention to slow traffic backfiring because of lack of attention to the detail of where the camera is to go.

"Where we have common ground is the need for this notoriously dangerous road to be looked at as a whole. One camera won't solve the problem of speeding and dangerous driving along a road with several blind bends. I have been assured by the council's cabinet member for the environment that this holistic approach will be adopted."

Cllr Mumford said: "The principle objection relates to where cameras are cited, currently dictated by government guidelines which can only date back to the days when cameras were only seen on motorways.

The residents want cameras but separate from residential properties. There is a camera on Sixth Cross Road which is positioned in the middle of the road and heavily screened by trees which is the type of approach which we would like to see more of. The council have agreed to consult the police and ask them to rethink the position of the camera, especially in light of the proposal for a crossing.

Following the street meeting with police on Wednesday morning, Cllr Mumford said the police had reconfirmed their original location for the camera but a final decision was still pending.

He said: "The council now have to decide whether to install the camera as they install the Teddington bound camera on the north side, or defer it to the major safety review on Sandy Lane due in the next few months."

Katie Gent, executive member for the environment, said that at the meeting, which she also attended, it was confirmed that there is only one possible site for a speed camera to deal with southbound traffic in Sandy Lane if the camera is to be effective.

She said: "The worst cluster of accidents occurs on the bend just past Bushy Park Road.

"If we move the camera to the Bushy Park Road junction, we no longer protect the bend. If we move the camera towards Harrowdene Gardens, we no longer protect the area where the most serious accidents are."

A spokesman for Richmond upon Thames Council said: "The residents have already been through the initial stages of consultation regarding the possibility of positioning a speed camera on Sandy Lane, Teddington.