Revealed: The end of Blyth 'rat run' as council plan bus lane camera to snare cheeky drivers

The curtain will close on a "rat run" sneaky drivers have used to illegally shave minutes off their commutes.

Northumberland County Council claim cheeky motorists are repeatedly flouting road signs by driving in the Laverock Hall Road bus lane.

Fed-up locals in Blyth were so annoyed, some reportedly staged a protest by using themselves to block cars.

However ChronicleLive can reveal a £25,000 bus lane camera is set to be installed in a bid to snare culprits.

Bus Lane camera on Edinburgh Road in South Shields (Newcastle Chronicle)

And a Freedom of Information request has revealed the camera will be installed as early as January, with drivers  fined if caught by what is believed to be Northumberland's first bus lane camera.

The lane was designed to allow buses to serve the Primrose Gardens and Benridge Park estates.

However the authority says it has received claims drivers are ignoring that in order to head east.

Bus Lane camera on Edinburgh Road in Jarrow (newcastle chronicle)

"In addition, through traffic now appears to be using Laverock Hall Road as a 'rat run', instead of remaining on the A1061 and turning left at the roundabout junction with South Newsham Road to reach Newcastle Road," states a council report.

Camera casualties: Accident hot spots that are so dangerous a speed camera is needed

It states Northumbria Police have been out to visit the site previously and even stopped drivers caught illegally using the lane.

"However, they have opted not to issue any fines and drivers continue to use the road when the police are not present."

However, council officials plumped for the use of the cameras after being presented with five options to solve the problem earlier this year.

Officers spurned a bus gate, road closures and even £48,000-a-year rising bollards in favour of the cameras, which will cost over £3,000-a-year- to operate.

It isn't known yet how much the fines for culprits could be although the council state they will be handed out "automatically".

A spokesperson for the council stated there is "no timescale yet for the installation and associated works". However, a Freedom of Information request revealed work is planned to start this January.

It also revealed no other bus lane cameras are currently being considered by the council.