A police crackdown on mobile phone usage behind the wheel has caught the highest ever number of offenders.

The campaign will see police forces run operations and campaigns to catch offenders.

The week-long campaign saw 7,966 mobile phone offences detected, up by over threefold on the figure of 2,323 offences for a previous campaign in May 2016.

The figures were released by National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) as it announced the launch of a new campaign to target drivers using mobile phones.

The campaign runs from today, Monday 23 January to Sunday 29 January and will see police forces run operations and campaigns, including through targeted patrols using unmarked vans, high vantage points and helmet cams to catch offenders, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

NPCC lead for roads policing, chief constable Suzette Davenport said: “Encouraging results from last year’s campaign against mobile phone use show how effective new tactics and innovative approaches can be. Officers will continue to use intelligence-led tactics to target police activity and resources and catch repeat offenders.

“Forces will be working throughout the year to tackle this behaviour by motorists with national partners and the public.”