Police in North Wales are having to find £18,000 to refund motorists after issuing speeding tickets for people driving more than 30mph - in a 40mph zone.

Officers had been targeting cars travelling through the village of Bala in Snowdonia in the 'Arrive Alive' campaign, reports the Daily Post.

They caught hundreds of drivers on the short stretch of road since the 'Arrive Alive' campaign was launched at the beginning of March.

North Wales Police Superintendent Simon Shaw admitted that police had wrongly believed the county council had changed the speed limit to 30mph in 1993.

"Following an enquiry by a member of the public, Gwynedd carried out a review of the relevant road traffic order and discovered the original road traffic order had not been revoked," he said.

"Consequently, despite a system of street lighting properly reflecting a 30mph speed limit the section of the road was still in fact the subject of a 40mph speed restriction."

Local politicians have criticised police for failing to notice the mistake sooner and warned "legal bungling" could lead to speeding problems.