Fleet of police ‘spy trucks’ to catch drivers breaking the law in cars to be rolled out on motorways

THREE new police "spy trucks" will be rolled out on England's motorways and A roads to catch dangerous drivers.

The fleet of unmarked HGVs will patrol the roads to hunt down Brits using mobile phones and committing other offences.

The special cabs, funded by Highways England, have wide-angled cameras to capture law breakers.

The lorries also have a derestricted speed limiter to allow cops to chase down drivers who try to outrun officers.

Flashing lights have also been installed in case of emergencies.

The cabs allow police officers to film evidence of unsafe driving behaviour by pulling up alongside and peering inside cars.

Drivers are then pulled over by police cars following behind.

The three new trucks follow a pilot scheme launched in 2015 that snared over 4,000 dangerous drivers in its first two years.

Nearly two-thirds of the drivers were stopped for illegally using a phone - despite the penalty doubling to six points and a £200 fine last year.

Offenders were also caught watching DVDs, brushing their teeth, reading books and even boiling a kettle.

Richard Leonard, Highways England’s head of road safety, said: "Highways England has been funding a single cab for the past couple of years and we’ve been impressed with the impact it’s had on improving safety.

"Over 4,000 dangerous drivers have been pulled over, with police action ranging from verbal warnings to prosecutions.

"We’ve found that the vast majority of drivers are sensible behind the wheel but a few have got into bad habits, or are simply ignoring the law and putting themselves and others at risk.

"We’ve therefore decided to fund two extra unmarked HGV cabs to continue to target dangerous driving on England’s motorways and major A roads, improving safety for everyone."

The three new unmarked HGV cabs are being supplied as part of a three-year contract with Dawsonrentals, which will also be responsible for maintaining the vehicles.