A new smartphone app that allows users to record passing cars and determine their speed before potentially informing the police is generating a storm just weeks after its launch.
Speedcam Anywhere allows pedestrians to determine the speed of a car as well reading the number plate and can use DVLA data to identify the make and model.
Currently, the app has not been certified by the Home Office as an authorised speed detection device, so drivers cannot be penalised if they do break the speed limit.
However, the footage can be saved and a report generated which can be shared with the police.
The app is said to have been developed by creators with backgrounds in the UK and Silicon Valley, with a launch in the US expected soon.
The inventors are keeping their identities hidden for now but still say they have received abusive emails from disagreeing members of the public.
"Some people think it’s a good idea, some people think that it turns us into a surveillance state," one told the Guardian.
The app is currently available on Google Play Store and available for download on Android devices.
Apple has yet to approve it for distribution on its App Store.