A “HIGHLY irresponsible” driver is off the road for 20 months, thanks to a fellow motorist who saw his dangerous overtaking on the A19 north of York.

Marc Hyland, 25, of Bell Farm Avenue, York, is the first person to be convicted under Operation Spartan, North Yorkshire Police’s system for members of the public to report bad driving.

Northallerton magistrates heard how he overtook cars waiting in the middle of the road to turn at a junction near Thormanby.

He crossed solid white lines and went onto the other side of the road on January 26. A lorry driver captured his actions on a dashcam and reported him via the system’s online driver concern form.

Hyland pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was given a 12-week prison sentence suspended for a year on condition he does 250 hours’ unpaid work, banned from driving for 20 months, ordered to retake his driving test and pay a £170 court bill.

Sergeant Zoe Billings of the major collision investigation unit said: “We are pleased with the sentence given to Hyland. As the footage clearly shows, his driving that day was highly irresponsible and incredibly dangerous and it’s only through sheer luck he didn’t meet any oncoming traffic. This could have ended tragically.

“This is Operation Spartan in practice – we realise that with over 6,000 miles of roads to police, officers cannot be everywhere policing every mile – but members of the public can be our eyes and ears. With their assistance, we can get dangerous drivers off the road and make our region a safer place to travel.

“I’d like to thank all the members of the public who have submitted reports and sent footage through to Op Spartan.

"I’d also like to take the opportunity to encourage any drivers who have witnessed any driving which causes them concern, or who have captured instances like this on dashcam to report it through the online form on the North Yorkshire Police website.

"Footage can be submitted directly to us via a file sharing service service such as WeTransfer or Dropbox -  email OpSpartan@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

“Every report and piece of footage that is submitted is assessed by experienced traffic officers and as this case demonstrates, the relevant action will be taken.”