POLICE in Bradford are bucking the national trend by catching more than 500 motorists illegally using their mobile phones while driving during a roads crackdown.

Across the country there has been a reduction of almost 40 per cent in culprits being caught, according to new figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

In West Yorkshire, however, the figures have risen, from 1,335 in 2011-12 to 3,107 in 2015-16.

And in Bradford, 507 offenders have been caught since the start of Operation Steerside, a police crackdown on dangerous driving in the district, began in February.

Yesterday the T&A saw a number of motorists continuing to defy the law by using mobile phones while driving around the city centre. They included a private hire driver, the driver of a motorhome, and a man in a shirt and tie who appeared to be texting.

Roads Policing Sergeant Cameron Buchan, who runs Operation Steerside, urged members of the public who used mobile phones while driving to consider what they were doing and stop.

Sgt Buchan said: “If you are driving one and a half tons of metal at 30mph, and you haven’t got full concentration and control of that vehicle, the consequences could be anything up to killing somebody.

“It is called one of the ‘fatal four’ – using mobile phones, driving at inappropriate speeds, drink and drug driving and not wearing a seatbelt – for a reason. They should ask themselves is it worth losing their licence, or their liberty, for.”

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Sgt Buchan welcomed Government proposals to double the penalties for being caught from three points on the licence to six, with the fine of £100 also to be at least doubled.

He said: “It will be a significant extra deterrent and will have a big impact because it will mean offenders are half way to losing their licence.”

“It is not every second or third car, but every driver who is on the phone is breaking the law and creating a problem and it needs to be addressed.”

Sgt Buchan admitted it was depressing that the Telegraph & Argus had seen drivers on the phone in the city centre yesterday.

“The fact that there were these drivers, in a busy city centre with more people about, is not right.

“The mobile phone has become an extension of people’s hand and they don’t realise the implications. We have to get the message across and educate people that they need to be responsible. Some people need to be caught before they will learn their lesson.”

West Yorkshire-based road safety charity Brake said that budget cuts were behind the drop in offenders being caught, with a 23 per cent reduction nationally in full-time traffic officers.

The charity’s campaigns adviser, Alice Bailey, said: “It would be wonderful to think this drop is down to people getting the message about the dangers of mobile phone use, but we don’t think this is the case.

“Road traffic officers have too often been seen as a soft option for cuts. They save lives. The Government must make sure it resources our police forces properly, so the new penalties are a real deterrent.”

West Yorkshire Police Federation chairman, Nick Smart, said that Brake was “100 per cent right”.

“The numbers are not down because people aren’t using mobile phones. We just don’t have the same number of traffic officers to police the legislation.

“We recognise road policing is massively important. We would love to have more roads policing officers.

“The public can help by stopping using their mobile phones. People have been killed and seriously injured because of it.

“We urge members of the public to consider other road users. Traffic policing cannot be under-estimated in terms of making people’s lives safer.”

Sgt Buchan urged the public not to get into confrontations with people breaking the law but if they were able to safely catch the drivers on a dash cam or mobile phone, they could submit the evidence to a new email address, bd.steerside@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

EDITOR'S COMMENT: New penalties for using your mobile at the wheel cannot come soon enough