A crackdown on motorists driving along pedestrian-only streets in Herne Bay could soon lead to offenders being fined.

Kent County Council (KCC) is considering installing number plate-reading cameras in the town centre to enforce rules it says are being blatantly ignored.

Some brazen drivers have even been seen reportedly opening barrier gates themselves to gain access to the restricted areas, causing a public safety issue.

But many traders argue the authority is trying to fix a problem that does not exist, branding the proposed measures “overkill”.

The streets under consideration are sections of Mortimer Street, William Street and Bank Street, which are pedestrianised between midday and 4.30pm from Monday to Friday and between 5.30am and 6.30pm on Saturdays.

Efforts have been made to control the traffic with swing gates, which have to remain unlocked when closed to allow access for emergency vehicles.

But some motorists are said to have been observed opening the barriers themselves to drive through during the restricted times.

Although these accounts are anecdotal, Canterbury City Council (CCC) recently conducted an experiment by leaving the gates open to see how many drivers still ignored the ‘no vehicles’ signs.

It revealed an alarming disregard of the ban, with almost 90 offenders a day recorded in William Street and dozens in the other pedestrianised zones.

City council spokesman Rob Davies says the authority has been pushing for enforcement for a number of years.

"It would provide proper enforcement of the pedestrian zone rules, which are in place to keep people safe in the town centre,” he said.

"Although we do not hold statistics on the number of times people have lifted the barrier when they should not have, and then gone on to breach the pedestrian zone rules, we know from eyewitness accounts both from our officers and members of the public that it happens often enough for us to consider it a significant issue that warrants the installation of cameras.

"We also strongly suspect it happens on many more occasions than we know about.”

But Joanne Stamp, who runs Cafe Latino in Mortimer Street, believes automatic number-plate reading (ANPR) cameras are unnecessary.

“It’s overkill, to be honest, because there isn’t really a problem,” she said.

“We don’t have boy racers up and down, like some other parts of the town, and there’s never been any kind of incident.

“Most people know how it works, including the delivery drivers.

“There may be the odd occasion when a trader has to lift the barrier to get through with a vehicle, but that would likely be some sort of emergency.

“And I have to say they are going to be mightily cheesed off if that leads to a fine.”

Adrian Metcalf, who runs 4 Seasons Clothing in Mortimer Street, agrees that ANPR cameras would be “over the top”.

“The system we have seems effective, and most people and delivery drivers work around the restrictions,” he said.

“I’m not aware of any incidents, but I guess you can always make up a scenario where pedestrians are being put at risk.

“I imagine these cameras won’t come cheap, and I would have thought the money could be better spent.”

But the owner of a family-run jewellery shop in the town, who did not want to be named, believes there could be some merit to having cameras.

“You do get vehicles going up and down when they shouldn’t be, and that obviously poses a risk,” she said.

A KCC public consultation over the proposed enforcement measures opened on May 20 and closes on July 1, and can be viewed on the authority’s website.

If the plans are taken forward, ANPR cameras would be installed at the William Street entrance from Mortimer Street; at the Mortimer Street entrance pointing along the Mortimer Street pedestrian area; on the High Street pointing along Bank Street; and on Charles Street pointing along Bank Street.