FIFTY people were caught without seatbelts or using a mobile phone in a six-hour blitz by police.

Officers ran a checkpoint in the morning in Colne Road, Burnley, before heading to Rossendale Road, Padiham, for the afternoon.

The number caught works out at an average of one every seven minutes.

Police said the levels were very concerning, especially if it was a reflection of law breaking across all roads in the area.

They now plan further crackdowns under Operation Pear Drop.

Each driver was given an on-the-spot fine, although they can avoid the penalty by attending a presentation at Burnley Fire Station to learn about the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

Those caught using a mobile cannot escape the fine.

Officers said they also had ‘strong words’ with the drivers.

They told how a mother of a three-year-old girl was reduced to tears after officers told her of the scenes of carnage at accidents.

The woman had failed to strap her daughter in to the middle seat of the back of a taxi.

PC Nigel Keats, of Burnley police, said the safety message remained ‘clunk clip, every trip’.

He added: “I was really shocked at the numbers we have recorded.

“In a six-hour period we stopped 50 cars because either the driver or the passenger wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

“I would have thought the number of people risking their lives would have been a lot smaller.

“In our eyes every one of those people we stopped could have potentially been a casualty.”

PC Keats said the campaign was not about raising money through fines.

He added: “It is about educating those who are risking their lives and the lives of others.

“As a police officer or a member of the emergency service we get to see the dire consequences of road collisions all the time.

“It is the worst job in the world to have to notify the family of a car crash victim that they have died or been seriously injured.

“A lot of the time people don’t realise the wider affect their actions have on the emergency services, family members and fellow motorists.”

Six motorists were stopped and fined for using their mobile phones while driving and the other 44 for not wearing seatbelts.

A 67-year-old man from Blackburn was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt on Rossendale Road.

He said: “I am a delivery driver and I often just travel a hundreds yards up the road before making another drop off.

“I think this operation is a great idea as it gives people the shock they need to mend their ways while avoiding a hefty fine at the same time.”