THE majority of Hampshire police officers caught speeding or jumping red lights escaped without prosecution, it has been reported.

New figures show that 1,131 speeding offences were caught on camera in 2006 - but just 16 officers faced prosecution for their actions.

Members of the public would have faced a £60 fine and three penalty points, but the majority of officers caught breaking the law had their slates wiped clean.

The figures have been slammed by road safety charity Brake.

A spokesman for the Police Federation said officers sometimes had to break speed limits and go through red lights in order to get to crime scenes as quickly as possible.

The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that nationally only 354 officers were prosecuted for 90,000 speeding offences.