POLICE are getting tough with irresponsible drivers who use mobile phones while on the road.

Operation Bad Call, which was officially launched in St Helens on Tuesday, will target all drivers guilty of using their phones while driving their cars.

It is being backed up in St Helens by the council's road safety officers who will be trying to educate drivers about the dangers, both to themselves and other drivers, of using their phones in this way.

Inspector Beecham of Merseyside Police's Road Traffic Unit, launched the campaign by saying: "Mobile phones can be a really valuable means of communication assisting people at home and in work, but using a phone while driving can also distract your attention from the road, which requires all of your concentration all of the time.

"Drivers must maintain full control of their vehicles at all times and if the use of a phone causes you to drive in a careless or dangerous manner, you could be prosecuted for those offences. The penalties are very severe and include a fine or even imprisonment."

Officers will be extra vigilant throughout Operation Bad Call and anyone seen using their phone while driving will be seriously dealt with.

Lisa Scott, senior Road Safety Officer with St Helens Council, added: "I cannot stress these issues too much. It is unsafe for drivers to use hand-held mobile phones while the vehicle is in motion, Making or receiving a call, even with a hand-free phone, can distract your attention which could result in an accident. Responsibility for the safe control of a vehicle always rests with the driver and we fully support this campaign."

PICTURED: PC ANITA Ashcroft of the Traffic Police Unit demonstrates what the long arm of the law will do to motorists caught using mobile phones while driving their vehicles. (Ref. 295/17).

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.