At least one person a day is being caught using their mobile phone behind the wheel, according to Home Office figures.

Lincolnshire Police fined 424 people using a hand-held phone while driving in 2017.

Only 12 of the fines were cancelled, the rest were either paid or were subject to court action.

The force has been trying to clamp down on the offence in recent months - and there has been discussion among forces nationally about a new piece of equipment that would let them see what drivers are doing from up to 1km away.

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In Lincolnshire, a fatal four squad was launched in May by the county's police force to tackle some of the faults that have been identified as being leading causes of collisions on the roads – including people using their phone while driving.

It involves a team of officers operating in unmarked vehicles to target any drivers who commit Fatal Four offences which as well as the use of a mobile includes drink/drug driving, mobile, excess speed, and not wearing a seatbelt.

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Speaking about its launch Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones said: “The idea to form a trained unit of specials, with traffic policing capabilities, emerged following the Road Safety Summit in Grantham last year.

“As a result of the many meetings I have around the county, and from the response to my recent public opinion survey, it is clear that road safety is an important issue and high priority for the residents of the county.

“The new unit will support the TRPT (Tactical Roads Policing Team) that we already share with Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

“I think this will be an important step in tackling the injury and death toll on our roads. Every incident has a terrible, and sometimes tragic, impact on those involved and we must do everything in our power to reduce this problem.”

So what does the law say?

If caught, a driver can get six penalty points and a £200 fine if caught speaking
on the phone while driving.

They can also be taken to court, where they can be banned from driving
or get a fine of up to £1,000.

Drivers who have passed their test in the last two years and get six
points have to retake both their practical and theory exams.

It is legal to use a mobile phone behind the wheel with a hands-free
kit - such as a Bluetooth headset.

Drivers can also use a hand-held phone while safely parked, or if they need to call 999 or 112 in an emergency and it is unsafe or impractical to stop.

The overall picture

Across England and Wales, there were 56,549 fines issued for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving last year.

This is down from 86,853, and the lowest number recorded since 2011.