MORE than 400 people were caught using their mobile phone behind the wheel last year, according to a Freedom of Information request.

North Yorkshire Police revealed they issued Fixed Penalty Notices, which consist of a £60 fine and three points on the driver's licence - 443 times throughout 2017.

The worst month for offences came in March when 64 people were caught - an average of 16 per week.

The fines are handed out by officers to anyone they see phoning or texting while driving - a crime which can often cause crashes and fatalities on the road as it distracts the driver.

The figures have dropped slightly since 2016, when 596 drivers were fined, but the number has prompted North Yorkshire Police to warn drivers about the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving.

A spokesman for the force said: "Using a mobile while driving can be utterly devastating. There have very sadly been a number of fatal collisions in North Yorkshire involving drivers using mobiles. A number of families have had to experience the heartache of a loved one being taken from them, all because someone deemed accepting a call or reading a text to be more important than someone’s life.

"Travelling at 30mph, a car can travel 100ft in just 2.3 seconds, so even a quick glance at your phone could mean you could miss a child stepping out from the pavement, with catastrophic results.

"I urge people to turn off their phones when they are driving, so they are not distracted by a call or a message and can concentrate fully on the road. Taking that call or answering that message could be a killer."

Fines for using a mobile phone while driving were first introduced in 2003, however, hundreds of people are still caught breaking the law across the county.

In late 2016 and early 2017, The Press ran The Road To Justice campaign, which called on the Government to re-write sentencing guidelines for dangerous drivers who kill or severely injure others.

Judges were bound by strict guidelines which limited the sentence they could hand down, however, due to The Press' campaigning, the Government announced dangerous drivers could now face manslaughter charges.