Traffic cops have been told to "ease off'' handing out speeding tickets, according to a Police insider.

The number of offenders summoned to traffic court has plummeted recently from several hundred a week down to just a handful.

And The Royal Gazette understands that officers have been told to turn a blind eye to speeders after courts became congested with hundreds of offenders.

It is understood that officers will be allowed to resume their blitz once two sessions of traffic court a week start up next month.

Last month more than 500 offenders were summoned to court for one session alone, forcing many motorists to wait for hours outside the courthouse until their name was called. On average several hundred motorists have been dealt with in the weekly session.

But in recent weeks that number has dwindled to single figures. On Thursday just eight people were summoned to court while last week 12 offenders were dealt with.

Next week just two offenders are due to appear in court while just one person has been ordered to appear the week after.

One senior Police officer, who did not wish to be named, confirmed that traffic Police had been ordered to go slow.

Traffic cops `ease off' on speeding tickets The source said that the courts could not handle the number of defendants appearing each week following a blitz on speeding motorists.

On Thursday night Police denied that traffic cops had been ordered to ease off.

But several different answers were given to explain the dramatic drop in prosecutions.

A Police spokesman suggested that this week's figure was "an anomaly''.

But Police prosecutor Sgt. Donald Grant later suggested manpower shortages may be to blame.

Senior Magistrate Will Francis was equally puzzled at the lack of offenders in court, but said that he did not know if Police had been deliberately ignoring speeders.

Following Thursday afternoon's brief session he said: "I was expecting a lot more people than that and yet I'm now finished.

"I don't know what has happened. I had made arrangements with the courts to give them an extra day to deal with speeders because it was getting too busy on a Thursday. That was going to start in September -- but if they are going be sending me as few people as they did today it makes me wonder if it's worth it.

"I have been on holiday for the last three weeks but I shall now be trying to find out what's been happening.'' On Sunday police gave an official explanation to the massive drop in ticketing.

Police spokesman Evelyn James Barnett said high profile policing had deterred offenders as the Police Traffic Enforcement Section combined with the regular traffic watches and the Cycle Crime Unit. She said: "This enables round-the-clock policing but also allows those traffic officers to perform other policing duties to off-set the chronic manpower shortage.'' "The results have produced a win-win situation. The police have been able to assume high visibility as opposed to heavy daytime traffic enforcement (ticketing).

"The deterrent (as opposed to the enforcement) emphasis has served particularly well in easing up the congestion in the Traffic Courts until the extra day comes into effect in September.''