A DRIVER caught hurtling along Poole’s busy Dorset Way at 102mph was just one of 227 traffic offenders caught during a one-day borough-wide crackdown.

The motorist, who more than doubled the 50mph speed limit, now faces a hefty fine and possible ban.

Another 26 careless drivers were nabbed chatting on mobile phones at the wheel as part of the hard-hitting road safety event.

The Poole Surround a Town initiative, forming part of Dorset Police’s No Excuse campaign, married enforcement action with a range of road safety initiatives.

The Daily Echo joined traffic officers during Wednesday’s blitz as they patrolled the borough’s highways. By the end of the day they had notched-up 110 tickets.

Meanwhile, the remaining 117 offences – all for speeding – were detected by safety camera vans.

More than 45 per cent of drivers pulled over were stopped for not wearing a seatbelt.

The majority of these offenders opted to attend an educational presentation held at the LV Streetwise centre on the day, thus avoiding a £60 fine.

Project manager Brian Austin said: “The Surround a Town events support our priority to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Dorset’s roads through enforcement, education and publicity.

“Disappointingly, 26 drivers risked their lives and the lives of everyone around them by using their mobile phones whilst driving.”

The Automatic Number Plate Recognition Spectrum Van also played a big role in the day, detecting a number of drivers without MOTs, insurance and licences.

One driver, who was pulled over for not wearing her seatbelt, then opted to attend the safety lecture, later contacted officers by email. She wrote: “I wanted to say thank you for all the hard work you all put into making the public aware of the dangers of not wearing a seat belt.

“I went along to this talk and was so impressed with the lady who spoke to us.”

Part of the day’s events also included a number of presentations for Ashdown Technology College students.

Dorset Road Safe’s 50/50 car, which recently won a National Trading Standards award spent the day – with trading standards officers and firefighters from Dorset Fire and Rescue Service – at Asda, Canford Heath.

Children at Canford Heath Middle School were also given free cycle safety advice.