Police have announced they intend to upgrade all of the fixed speed cameras on south Bucks roads, in a move which could prove unpopular with motorists.

Drivers have long been wary of the big yellow boxes dotted around the county’s roads, with the force - which insists the cameras are “solely for road safety reasons” - now making sure they are all in top working condition using the latest technology.

Officers say many traditional ‘wet film’ cameras are over ten years old and will be replaced in the coming weeks and months as part of its efforts to reduce deaths and injuries on Thames Valley's roads.

The first cameras to be upgraded will be at ‘priority sites’ where there is the greatest need to reduce the number of casualties and speed of vehicles.

The Thames Valley-wide programme is set to last up to five years. 20 cameras and site upgrades will be completed this year, with a further 10 cameras to be upgraded next year.

Although the camera's exterior image will remain the same, the new digital cameras will produce a better image, police say, and make it easier to identify culprits.

Temporary Supt Henry Parsons, of Hampshire constabulary and Thames Valley Police joint operations roads policing unit, said: "This improved technology will help us continue to respond to concerns raised by local communities and help make their roads safer.

"They are used solely for road safety reasons as evidence shows they are effective at reducing casualty rates."

The new digital cameras will send offence information using mobile data technology to a control centre in Banbury.

The first cameras to be upgraded were in Oxford.

Unlike the analogue cameras that require an operator to attend each camera site to remove the film, before being reviewed by the team at the Fixed Penalty Support Unit.