MIDDLE lane motorway hogs are being told this week to shift to the left.

A week-long trial started on Monday with electric signs up and down the M6 telling motorists: "Don't hog the middle lane".

The signs, including one on the northbound carriageway, near Leyland, are part of a Highways Agency campaign to make motorways safer and reduce driver frustration caused by middle lane hoggers.

Highways chiefs are confident their message is already getting across to drivers in the county.

Stuart Lovatt, safety action plan coordinator for the Highways Agency, said: "I was on a bridge on Monday at the start of the campaign. Before the signs were turned on people were just driving along in the middle lane.

"But when the signs were turned on there was a real difference.

"We hope that our message is clear, we are saying to motorists to be courteous and aware of other drivers and the road conditions."

After the trial the Highways Agency plan to review the results, and that of a similar one taking place in South Yorkshire, to see whether it should be rolled out across the country.

The agency has sensors in each lane and will track how the lanes are being used and whether the signs have affected driving patterns.

Mr Lovatt added: "If people listen to rule 238 of the Highway Code that states that you should keep to the left hand lane unless you are overtaking then hopefully congestion and accidents will be reduced."