'Belt up - or we'll catch you' - police

Ten officers used Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) equipment in Bolton Road, outside the Access Point from 10pm to midnight on Saturday.

A total of 16 drivers were handed £30 fixed penalty notices, 15 for not wearing seatbelts.

Inspector Graham Ashcroft of Darwen Police said: "We even found a one-year-old child in the back of a car who wasn't properly belted up.

"The three main causes of driving injuries are drink-driving, speeding and people not wearing seatbelts. It is so important for people to wear them and this needs to be known."

This is the second operation of its kind, the first was last Christmas.

Insp Ashcroft added: "We are planning a lot more operations because we are able to see a lot with the special device we use to read number plates. It tells us information about the vehicle and the drivers. It can tell us if the car is stolen and if the driver has been involved in any criminal activity."

Officers stopped 100 vehicles and 38 drivers were asked to produce driving licences, 16 were given fixed penalty notices and five drivers were told to make sure the DVLA had updated information on their vehicle.

Defects were discovered on 16 cars and one car was taken off the road because of its poor condition.

Insp Ashcroft said: "This sort of operation highlights the need for members of the public to stay safe and to wear seatbelts and make sure their car is in good working order." In 2000, 9,787 fixed penalty notices were issued in Lancashire to people not wearing seatbelts.

Compulsory seatbelt wearing was introduced in 1983 and police predict that this has saved the life of 370 people and 7,000 injuries nationwide.

Sgt Paul Isherwood of the Accrington Road Policing unit, said: "We are planning a major initiative in March to make people belt up. It's so dangerous for people to avoid wearing them. Back seat passengers are three times more likely to die if they don't wear them and the statistics speak for themselves."