AN investigation has been launched after a motorist was wrongly given a speeding ticket on Bournemouth's Wessex Way because an overtaking car had triggered the camera.

The incident follows recent controversy over more than 6,000 unlawful parking tickets issued in the town in the last five years. They have been cancelled and £26,000 of fines refunded.

Now mother-of-two Donna Frampton is wondering whether she is the only motorist to be stung in error on a dual carriageway.

She received a notice through the post a few days ago telling her she had been going 58mph near the Richmond Park Road exit of the Wessex Way at 1.20pm on June 7. The road has a 50mph limit and four fixed camera points between Westbourne and the Cooper Dean flyover.

But luckily for Donna, 32, of Southbourne, Bournemouth, she remembered that day well. "I was so adamant it wasn't me.

"I knew I was driving, but I know the road and know the camera is there," she said.

She rang the central ticket office and left a message asking for a picture to be sent to her.

"Two hours later, they rang back and said it wasn't me and there was a car in the other lane.

"I'm relieved it wasn't me, but how many people wouldn't have queried it and just handed over the £60? I can remember a car shooting past me, but I don't remember the camera flashing or anything."

Pat Garrett, head of fixed penalties for the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership, said that because an offence had been committed, he could not comment on the specific details until the case had been resolved.

But he admitted: "There was a mistake, for which the DSCP unreservedly apologises. The partnership would like to reassure the public that stringent checks are in place to ensure that only those who have broken the law are prosecuted and that every case is dealt with on an individual basis."

He promised that a full internal investigation would be carried out to look at processes and procedures, and to make any necessary improvements to ensure there was no repeat of the error.

"While the partnership accepts that any error is regrettable, its most recent survey shows that it has achieved a 99.99 per cent detection accuracy record since commencing operation in April 2002," he added.