TRAFFIC officers have dealt with more than 7,000 incidents since they started patrolling Cambridgeshire s 68 miles of strategic motorways and trunk roads a year ago, the Highways Agency has revealed. Operators have taken more than 10,000 telephone calls a

TRAFFIC officers have dealt with more than 7,000 incidents since they started patrolling Cambridgeshire's 68 miles of strategic motorways and trunk roads a year ago, the Highways Agency has revealed.

Operators have taken more than 10,000 telephone calls about incidents in the county since the 34 officers started work in late July 2006.

The incidents the Whittlesford-based congestion-busting team dealt with, supporting the police, included nearly 4,500 breakdowns and about 700 collisions on the A1(M), A14 and M11.

The agency says traffic officers are responsible for dealing with minor collisions on the motorways and parts of the A14, removing damaged and abandoned vehicles, clearing dangerous debris from the road, undertaking high visibility patrols and providing road closures.

Dealing with accidents involving injury or fatality remains the responsibility of the police but officers support them by managing traffic around the incident.

Highways Agency operations manager Stewart Evans said: "We are delighted with the response we have received from drivers in our first year on the road. As our expertise has grown we have been able to make a difference to a large number of drivers.

"The A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge is one of the few non-motorway roads in the country to be patrolled by traffic officers.

"Dealing with incidents on that stretch can prove a challenge because there is no hard shoulder, but we're always pleased when users allow us to pass. It helps us get to the scene, clear congestion and get people back on their way again.