A BURNLEY bus company has joined forces with police to launch a hi-tech crackdown on motorists who flout the law.

Local bus operator Burnley and Pendle Travel and Pennine Police will be using CCTV footage from buses to enforce driving and parking restrictions -- especially drivers who park in bus lanes.

CCTV has been fitted to selected buses for almost a year now and bus company bosses say the results have been overwhelming.

As well as providing added reassurance and protection for bus travellers and drivers, CCTV has also resulted in good evidence for numerous road crashes as well as more serious crimes.

However, this latest CCTV crackdown is aimed at motorists who are persistently parking in bus lay-bys and driving in the clearly marked bus lanes.

Bus chiefs say as well as acting irresponsibly and illegally motorists are causing a great deal of inconvenience for passengers, particularly disabled bus users.

Russell Revill, Operation Director for Burnley and Pendle Travel, said: "One of the reasons why the new bus lanes and bus stops were introduced was to make life easier, particularly for elderly and disabled passengers.

"However, because people are parking in bus stops and using bus lanes those passengers are suffering.

"It's not much good us providing low floor buses if they can't access the bus stops and "dock" close in to the kerb to permit easy access by customers. Very few car drivers realise just how much space a 12 metre long single decker bus needs in order to park parallel to a bus stop kerb.

"As a result we are liaising with local police with a view to ensuring that anyone caught blocking a bus stop or using a bus lane inappropriately is dealt with accordingly."

Pennine Police's Road Safety Sergeant Martin Bishop said: "We are keen to help Burnley and Pendle Travel raise awareness of this problem in order to put a halt to it.

"The very last thing we want to do is issue tickets or start stopping motorists but unfortunately, if drivers continue to ignore warnings, that is what we will have to do.

"The fact that many of these offences are now being captured on CCTV by the bus company means that motorists flouting the law really do stand a very high chance of being caught."

Each of the buses is fitted with a digital CCTV system where two cameras cover the bus interior from front to rear, and a third watches all boarding and alighting.

A fourth, mounted on the dashboard, looks ahead to monitor other traffic movements, including road accidents and infringements at bus stops and in bus priority lanes.

Bus drivers who spot any flouting of regulations will be able to report the incidents to police who will study the CCTV tapes before considering prosecutions.

North West area officer for the Parkinson's Disease Society, which has a branch in Reedley Road, Burnley, Ian Prest, said: "This is definitely an initiative we would welcome. A lot of the people we have contact with rely on public transport to get around and if they can't get on and off the buses at the appropriate place then it becomes a major problem for them. We are glad some action is being taken."