DRIVERS continue to flagrantly flout the law by using mobile phones behind the wheel – as these shocking pictures captured by the Daily Echo prove.

A number of motorists were snapped on and around Bournemouth's Wessex Way, last week, clearly using mobiles.

None of the shots were taken of stationary vehicles.

This comes less than a month after Dorset Police collared 91 people with fixed penalty notices during a week-long crackdown on the mobile phone menace.

And with new, tougher, legislation coming into force on Wednesday, these drivers risk six penalty points on their licences and a £200 fine – double the existing amount.

Police hope the changes, which will apply to England, Scotland and Wales, will have a significant impact motorists, particularly younger drivers, who risk having their licence revoked following a first offence.

Inspector Matt Butler, from the Alliance Roads Policing department, explained: "It has been illegal to use a hand-held phone or similar device while driving or riding a motorcycle since December 2003.

"However, many motorists still fail to see that it is not possible to use a phone and be in proper control of a vehicle.

"Whatever the reason for using a mobile device when driving – texting, scanning a news feed or streaming video content – it can wait until your journey is over. Nothing is more important than your safety and the safety of road users around you."

Last year trucker Tomasz Kroker killed a mother and her three young children after ploughing into their stationary car at 50mph on the A34 near Newbury. He had been distracted by scrolling through music on his mobile phone.

The nation reacted in horror after authorities released the truck's dash-cam footage - which showed Kroker using his phone less than a second before impact.

Kroker was jailed for ten years.

Meanwhile, a report published by the RAC in September 2016 revealed 31 per cent of drivers had admitted to using a mobile phone when driving, up from just eight per cent in 2014.

Inspector Butler said: "It is plausible that the percentage of motorists who use their mobile phone at the wheel is even higher than the research suggests, which is why enforcement efforts must be supported by changes in drivers’ attitudes if we are to succeed in keeping our roads safe."