A TOP Government minister has backed the Telegraph & Argus' Stop the Danger Driver Campaign, saying it provided a "kick up the backside" needed to tackle road safety issues.

Chris Grayling, who is Leader of the House of Commons, said Bradford had been "dogged" by the issue of bad driving for some years and that the campaign was a good example of how a newspaper can make a difference.

The Conservative MP visited Bradford yesterday to offer his support to the party's candidate for the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire, former police commander Allan Doherty.

Mr Doherty also endorsed the campaign, saying he had seen the dangers of bad driving during his time as a police chief in the district.

The campaign started last year and has seen numerous examples of poor and dangerous driving featured by the T&A.

It also inspired a police campaign to crack down on dangerous driving that has so far seen almost 1,600 motorists caught breaking the law.

Mr Doherty, who commanded the Airedale and North Bradford division of West Yorkshire Police before his retirement, said: "One of the main issues in Bradford is anti-social motoring and there have been a number of fatal accidents, or accidents that have caused serious injury that are very concerning.

"It gives Bradford a bad reputation and it also punishes the public by forcing them to pay higher insurance premiums.

"I remember a fatal collision while I was an officer where the driver just drove off. The victim's family has never had closure on who did it, so we need to do all we can to prevent things like this from happening."

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Mr Grayling, who was Justice Secretary from 2012 to 2015, said: "As you catch these anti-social motorists you solve other crimes, because if people are willing to flout the law of the road they are willing to flout other laws too.

“The Telegraph & Argus campaign is a really good example of how a local paper campaign can make a difference and focus authorities on a particular issue and give them a bit of a kick up the backside.

“The issue of bad driving in Bradford is clearly one that has dogged the city for a long period of time. There have been a lot of serious accidents as well as many misdemeanours that make the city a less safe place to drive.

“To having a local paper pushing the agenda and saying to the police and local authority they have to do more clearly can make a difference.”

Mark Burns Williamson, the serving West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner who is standing for re-election, has already backed the campaign, telling the T&A: "I will continue to do everything I can to improve road safety across West Yorkshire and raise awareness in Bradford and elsewhere."

Operation Steerside, the West Yorkshire Police operation inspired by the campaign resulted in 27 tickets issued to motorists on Monday this week, 19 for speeding, five for no seatbelt and three for no insurance. On Tuesday there were 26 tickets issued and three vehicles seized.