A MAN whose father died just months after being caught by a speed camera van has accused law enforcers of double standards.

Former Walney School pupil Ian Harper spoke out about his dad's experience after motorists and residents criticised the location of a speed camera van parked on the Promenade last week.

The picture of the van, which was parked on the pavement on a stretch of double yellow lines, led to many to question the legality of its location.

Mr Harper, who works for the North West Ambulance Service in Carlisle, said his dad's speeding ticket contributed to his death.

"My dad drove all his life, he was a bus driver in Barrow," Mr Harper said.

"When he got his speeding ticket, he was 71, he'd never been in trouble in his life and it devastated him. He already had heart problems and within three months of getting the ticket in the November of 2012 he was dead."

At the time of his death, Mr Harper's father Harry only left his home in Tamar Gardens once a week to visit Tesco. Other than his weekly shop, he rarely left his home following the death of his wife Beryl, who he met when she was a conductress on his bus in the 1960s.

While he accepts his father broke the law when he was snapped driving at 36mph in the 30mph zone, Mr Harper believes the punishment was not proportionate to his crime.

"He did break the law but it didn't fit the crime; it contributed to his death," he said.

Mobile and fixed speed cameras in Cumbria are operated by a multi-agency Cumbria Road Safety Partnership. Following the uproar at the speed camera van's location, a spokeswoman for Cumbria Police said the van's operator had "been suitably advised".

The spokeswoman said: "The location shown on the photograph is clearly on the promenade on Walney. From the last 10 deployments to that location, there have been an average of ten offences of excess speed detected, the highest being 49mph. This is clear evidence of the need to deploy the safety camera van at this location in order to improve the safety of the local community by reducing the likelihood of a serious collision.

"The photograph shows the safety camera van parked on the wide pavement on Walney promenade, and although not committing an offence by doing so as there is still ample room to pass by with a wheelchair or pushchair between the wall and the van, there is actually a far more acceptable location as shown on the photograph, on the road just prior to the double yellow lines.

"The operator of the vehicle on this occasion has been suitably advised regarding this and their future choice of location.”