The camera was taken down on Tuesday

The schoolboys erected the cardboard fake in a bid to put the brakes on cars driving through the village of Lepton near Huddersfield.

The "camera" was built from a cardboard box, painted yellow, and some scrap timber.

George Guest, 14, and his 13-year-old brother Freddie even placed strips of duct tape along Gawthorpe Green Lane to act as official looking road markings.

It is incredible that a simple yellow box could be so effective Denton Guest

Their father Denton said: "It started off as a practical joke by my two sons but has developed from there.

"They decided to build a better, improved version on Sunday and the results have been just as impressive.

"Motorists use the road as a rat-run in the morning and evening and it is a dangerous road.

"It is incredible that a simple yellow box could be so effective."

Mr Guest said the fake camera was dismantled on Tuesday, but said he was "100% sure" another one would soon appear.

Despite looking authentic from a distance the device does not contain any photographic equipment.

Philip Gwynne, of the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, told BBC News Online: "As far as we're concerned this demonstrates that people increasingly recognise the benefits and effectiveness of safety cameras.