MORE than 700 motorists were snared and 60 vehicles seized by police in the first month of a Telegraph & Argus-inspired crackdown on dangerous drivers in Bradford.

The two-month operation has been focusing on five 'hotspot' areas that were identified by officers who gathered intelligence in the weeks before the initiative started on February 1.

Now, with the first four weeks completed, Superintendent Damien Miller, who leads neighbourhood operations at Bradford District Police, hopes the crackdown is starting to have an impact on the motoring habits of bad drivers across the city.

"We are pleased with what this operation has achieved in its first month and are keen to build on this as we move forward," said Supt Miller.

"With 60 vehicles seized and more than 700 tickets issued so far, we hope that it is starting to have an impact on those motorists across the district who drive in an unsafe and illegal way.

"We would like to thank the public for their support of this initiative and to remind them that details of vehicles being used in this way can be emailed to bradforddistrictasbbiketeam@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk, left by answerphone on 01274 373968 or reported using 101 or at your local police station.

"Vehicles which are posing or are believed to be posing an immediate risk to the public should be reported using 999."

The first month of the crackdown saw 247 drivers caught breaking the speed limit, 55 driving without insurance, 231 stopped for not wearing a seatbelt, 73 captured using a mobile phone at the wheel, and 95 snared for 'other' motoring offences.

During the fourth week of the first month, up to yesterday, 59 drivers were stopped for not wearing a seatbelt, 54 were caught speeding, 18 were using a mobile phone while driving, 18 were driving with no insurance, and 22 were snared for 'other' offences.

The crackdown - named Operation Steerside - was launched on the back of the Telegraph & Argus Stop the Danger Drivers campaign, which aims to highlight the poor standard of driving in the district and is calling for changes to the law.

Sergeant Cameron Buchan, who is working on the operation, said: "Only those committing offences have anything to be concerned about with this police initiative. We are targeting the principal causes of collisions and bad driving complaints before they develop into such matters.

"The vast majority of motorists in this city are being protected from the offending minority, making their use of Bradford roads safer."

Among the drivers snared in the first month was a man caught speeding at 64mph in a 40mph zone on Wakefield Road in his wife's white Volkswagen Golf. Police also discovered that he was already banned from driving and seized the car.

A police spokesman said: "This highlights the attitude some drivers have towards lawful driving. Being disqualified for good reason, this man continued to drive, this time at excessive speed on a weekday afternoon and offering no reason."

Another vehicle seized included a van after its driver sped away from police and crashed into a tree after driving down a banking and turning into the Thorpe Edge estate.

"Unfortunately in his desperation to get away from the officer he collided with a large tree on the grassed area just before Sandholme Drive," said a police spokesman.

The driver, who was not hurt, admitted he wasn't insured and only had a provisional licence.