A FAST-FLASHING speed camera prompted widespread panic among Poole motorists – only for it to emerge the device was just being tested.

The newly installed camera on Broadstone Way has been going off almost at will since Tuesday, even with drivers travelling well below the 50mph limit.

The indiscriminate flashing left drivers fearful of fines and points on their licence, particularly given the recent introduction of new “speed on green” cameras at Poole’s Holes Bay.

But Dorset Safety Camera Partnership (DSCP) said new camera technology was merely being tested by Siemens and stressed there would be no enforcement.

Mark Armstrong, camera and enquiry team manager at DSCP, said: “Siemens have apologised to us as we would not have expected the camera to have gone off at the level it was.

“It was just part of the testing programme and has now been turned off.”

Siemens admitted the camera at the Cabot Lane crossroads was set up to detect at a very low speed, so was flashing even when people were driving below the 50mph limit.

Driver Debbie Walker said she saw the camera flash several times in a matter of seconds and believes there should have been notice of the testing to ease drivers’ concerns. However, no party was taking responsibility for the lack of pre-publicity about the test yesterday.

A spokesperson for Siemens said warning signs would be erected if and when the camera went live, but said the council was responsible for alerting the public to the testing.

Martin Baker, Poole council’s road safety engineer, said they understood motorists’ concerns over the unexplained flashing but said it was “simply a technical trial”.

DSCP emphasised they had no control over the flashing or the test.

Should the new “fixed radar-based digital system” win Home Office approval, the camera could go live in a matter of months.

DCSP insisted it would be purely a speed camera and not a “speed on green” device like those recently installed at Holes Bay.

These dual-use devices act both to catch drivers jumping red lights and those speeding through when lights are green.