The Kent & Medway Safety Camera Partnership is applauding the road safety charity Brake for branding BBC's Top Gear 'stupidly irresponsible' for telling bikers they can ignore safety cameras.

Presenter James May (pictured) claimed on the programme that he took no notice of safety cameras. When he learned the cameras were pointing in the opposite direction to him he pretended to open up the throttle and made obscene gestures.

In a statement Brake said: "We are sick to death of the BBC allowing Top Gear presenters to get away with making irresponsible comments that encourage drivers and riders to put lives at risk. Motorbikers account for one in five road deaths, yet they represent just three per cent of all licensed vehicles on the road."

Rachel Moon, communications & promotions officer for the Kent & Medway Partnership, added: "We are fully supportive of Brake's comments and are extremely disappointed in Top Gear. Safety cameras act almost as a memorial to those who have been killed or seriously injured and the programme has made a mockery of this.

"We have carried out a successful motorcycle campaign this year - Handle It Or Lose It - and bikers in the county have been extremely supportive. It is disappointing to see that one presenter can make the biking community seem irresponsible. This is not the case for the majority who just want to go out on their bike, enjoy the ride and return home safely at the end of the day."