TWO speed cameras attacked by vandals are being resurrected by safety chiefs.

News Shopper revealed how a camera was ripped from its foundations in Valley Drive, Gravesend, in October last year.

Weeks later, a camera was stolen from Wrotham Road, Meopham.

Kent & Medway Safety Camera Partnership re-installed the Valley Drive camera on January 13.

The Meopham camera was due to be installed earlier this week.

It cost £18,000 to reinstall the two cameras. So far no-one has been prosecuted for the attacks.

Some residents support the return of the safety cameras but others think speed cameras are not the answer.

The borough has been divided on the issue after Chalk resident Dave Brown started a campaign against them.

He says they do not work because people speed up after passing them.

Mr Brown thinks it is a mistake to put cameras back at the two locations.

He says variable speed limits should be used as they help prevent accidents because people would drive according to the road conditions.

Mr Brown argues with a 30mph limit, people assume it is safe to drive at this speed even if the road is congested or icy.

He wants the limit increased at quiet times, such as early in the morning, and lowered for peak times.

Mr Brown says this will help people drive more responsibly and become more educated about how fast they should travel.

He said: "There need to be speed limits but they are too rigid. They need to be realistic."

However, Meopham parish councillor Bill Fisher says the community is pleased the speed camera is back.

He says people had been bombarding him with queries about its return.

Residents pushed to get the Wrotham Road camera in its current location to protect schoolchildren walking to Meopham Primary School.

Cllr Fisher said: "If it saves one life a year it's worthwhile. We are very pleased it's going up as a deterrent."

Kent and Medway Speed Camera Partnership spokesman Rachel Moon said: "We have been enforcing the sites with a mobile camera and the community has been protected."