They’ve been the bane of motorists’ lives for a while now, but those grey speed cameras that are said to have netted the Treasury an extra 25 per cent in fines might be on their way out.

Fixed to motorway gantries and sneakily painted the same colour to blend in with them, these Hadecs – short for Highways Agency Digital Enforcement Camera System –  made their unwelcome entrance a year ago on a short stretch of the M25 near Clacket Lane Services.

Since then, they’ve bred like rabbits as they’ve been pressed into increasing use on the growing “smart motorway” network, as seen below.

Drivers caught speeding on the rise due to 'stealth' camera... http://t.co/pKA96eaCpP | https://t.co/apGmzF9vUw pic.twitter.com/A4ocaNIje4

— Nicole (@NcoleWilliams) April 12, 2015

More than 112,000 motorists got caught out in 2014 – a quarter more than in 2013 – and that’s being attributed to these sneaky snappers.

Don’t get us wrong. We don’t condone speeding. If you break the law, you should face the consequences. But surely the cameras would prove a more effective deterrent if they were painted the same stand-out yellow as all the others?

And as the general election approaches,  the Conservatives and Labour seem to agree. The Tories have said they’ll scrap the grey ‘uns if a Highways England report due in the summer is critical of them, while the left-wingers have vowed that if they get into No 10 they’ll get them repainted yellow.

Both proposals win our vote!