Camera traps 2,400 drivers in 50 days

More than 2,400 drivers have been fined for misusing this central London junction - in just 50 days.

Drivers caught performing U-turns here are landed with £100 fines - but they claim signs warning that the turns are banned are "invisible", hidden behind a cluster of other signs and traffic lights. Now motorists have accused transport chiefs of cashing in.

Camden council admits its sign is "partially obscured" and needs to be moved. But it will not cancel the fines.

The junction on Southampton Row, close to Vernon Place, Holborn, is guarded by CCTV cameras. The no-U-turn sign on the northbound side can only be glimpsed at the last moment - if drivers crane their heads round.

The fines have all been issued in the period since 1 December.

Today, cabbies - believed to account for a large proportion of them - claimed "Arthur Daleys" at Camden were out to make a profit at their expense. Richard Massey of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association said: "All the fines should be rescinded immediately."

Delivery driver Michael Mohammed, caught on camera making a U-turn on Wednesday morning, said: "It's a disgrace. I didn't see the sign at all. It will come out of my wages, so I'll have to appeal."

A Camden official promised the sign - part of a pilot safety scheme - would be moved.

The spokesman said appeals against fines would be handled individually, taking account of lighting and road conditions at the time of the offence.